COMMERCIAL  EDUCATION 
iN  PUBLIC  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS 

EV  THOMPSON 


UC-NRLF 


$B  i"]  m? 


SCHOOL    EFFICIENCY    SERIES 

PAUL  H.HANUS 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/commercialeducatOOthomrich 


THE  School  Efficiency  Series  comprises  about  ten 
volumes  by  as  many  educational  experts  on 
Elementary  School  and  Kindergarten,  High  School,  and 
Vocational  Instruction,  Courses  of  Study,  Organization, 
Management  and  Supervision.  The  series  consists  of 
monographs— with  additions  plainly  indicated  in  each 
volume  —  constituting  the  report  of  Professor  Hanus 
and  his  associates  on  the  schools  of  New  York  City, 
but  the  controlling  ideas  are  applicable  as  well  in  one 
pubHc  school  system  as  in  another. 
Among  the  authors  contributing  to  these  volumes 
are  Professor  Paul  H.  Hanus,  Professor  of  Education, 
Harvard  University,  who  is  also  general  editor  of  the 
series;  Dr.  Frank  P.  Bachman,  formerly  Assistant 
Superintendent  of  Schools,  Cleveland;  Dr.  Edward  C. 
EUiott,  Director  of  the  School  of  Education,  University 
of  Wisconsin;  Dr.  Herman  Schneider,  Dean  of  the 
College  of  Engineering,  University  of  Cmcinnati;  Mr. 
Frank  W.  Ballou,  Joseph  Lee  Fellow  for  Research  in 
Education,  Harvard  University  (formerly  Assistant 
Professor  of  Education,  University  of  Cincinnati); 
Dr.  Calvin  O.  Davis,  Assistant  Professor  of  Education, 
University  of  Michigan;  Mr.  Frank  V.  Thompson, 
Assistant  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Boston;  Dr. 
Henry  H.  Goddard,  Director  Department  of  Psycho- 
logical Research,  New  Jersey  Training  School  for 
Feeble-Minded  Boys  and  Girls;  Mr.  Stuart  A.  Courtis, 
Head  of  Department  of  Science  and  Mathematics, 
Detroit  Home  and  Day  School  (Liggett  School), 
Detroit;  Dr.  Frank  M.  McMurry,  Professor  of  Elemen- 
tary Education,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University; 
Dr.  Ernest  C.  Moore,  Professor  of  Education,  Harvard 
University  (formerly  of  Yale  UmVersity). 


SCHOOL    EFFICIENCY    SERIES 


Commercial  Education  in 
Public  Secondary  Schools 


SCHOOL      EFFICIENCY      SERIES 
Edited  by  Paul  H.  Hanus 


Commercial  Education  in 
Public  Secondary  Schools 

By  F.  V.  THOMPSON 

Assistant  Suphrinthndbnt  of  Schools 
Boston,  Massachusbtts 


YONKERS-ON-HUDSON,  NEW  YORK 

WORLD  BOOK  COMPANY 
1915 


Copyright^  igiSt  by  World  Book  Company 
All  rights  reser<ved 


Ciliie.  dtf  t. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE 

THIS  book  deals  with  some  important  contemporary 
problems  of  commercial  education  in  secondary 
schools,  considered  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  investi- 
gator, teacher,  and  administrative  officer,  and  aims  at  con- 
structive proposals  based  on  the  actual  needs  of  business  as 
it  is.  These  constructive  proposals  are  the  outcome  of  a 
critical  examination  of  contemporary  commercial  education 
in  secondary  schools,  together  with  certain  investigations  in 
the  field  of  business  in  several  cities  in  the  United  States, 
and  of  earlier  studies  by  the  author  of  commercial  education 
in  Europe.  The  volume  also  contains,  in  Chapter  VI,  Mr. 
Thompson's  report  on  commercial  education  in  the  high 
schools  of  the  city  of  New  York,  constituting  a  part  of  my 
report  submitted  to  the  Committee  on  School  Inquiry  of 
the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment  in  1912. 

Although,  as  Mr.  Thompson  says  in  his  Preface,  there  is 
considerable  literature  on  commercial  education,  it  is  also 
true  that  there  is  much  uncertainty  and  not  a  little  actual 
misconception  concerning  the  aims,  scope,  and  methods  of 
education  for  commercial  life  in  the  minds  of  business  men 
and  teachers  alike — confusion  and  misconceptions  that  in- 
terfere with  the  formulation  of  just  aims,  and  prevent 
profitable  endeavor  in  preparing  our  young  people  for  busi- 
ness careers. 

Mr.  Thompson's  discussion  of  the  distinction  between 
clerical  training  and  training  for  business,  of  desirable  dif- 
ferentiation between  commercial  courses  for  the  two  sexes, 
his  appeal  to  investigation  to  secure  a  fact  basis  for  his 
contentions  and  recommendations,  his  insistence  on  the  ne- 
cessity of  cooperation  between  business  and  education  for 

vii 


306929 


viii  Editor^s  Preface 

the  training  of  workers  and  leaders  in  industry,  together 
with  his  practical  suggestions  for  rendering  this  coopera- 
tion effective,  make  this  book  a  timely  and,  we  hope,  also  a 
helpful  contribution  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  how 
to  secure  satisfactory  commercial  education  for  prospective 
business  men  in  our  secondary  schools. 

Paul  H.  Hanus 
Harvard  University 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

THIS  volume  does  not  present  a  comprehensive  treatment 
of  commercial  education  as  a  general  subject.  There 
is  no  dearth  of  treatises  of  this  character,  and  of  fairly  recent 
date.  Those  writings  cover  the  broader  aspects  of  theory 
and  practice,  foreign  commercial  higher  schools,  and  an 
exposition  of  the  need  and  importance  of  commercial  edu- 
cation of  secondary  grade.  The  purpose  of  the  present 
book  is  to  offer  a  descriptive,  critical,  and  constructive 
treatment  of  current  problems  in  commercial  education ;  the 
treatment  is  further  limited  to  the  problems  of  the  sec- 
ondary schools.  Throughout  the  book  will  appear  the 
conviction  of  the  author  that  readjustment  of  organization 
and  methods,  changes  of  direction,  and  expansion  of  our 
conception  of  the  province  and  purposes  of  commercial 
education  are  imperatively  needed.  In  the  volume  will  be 
found  as  a  separate  section  (Chapter  VI)  the  report  of 
the  author  on  commercial  schools  and  courses  maintained 
by  the  public  school  system  of  the  city  of  New  York. 

F.  V.  Thompson 
January,  1915 


CONTENTS 

Page 
Editor's  Preface vii 

Author's  Preface ix 

Chapter 
I.  Present  Conditions  in  Education  for  Commercial 

Life i 

II.  School  Organization  and  Teachers  in  Commer- 
cial Education 22 

III.  The  General  High  School  and  Commercial  Edu- 
cation        36 

IV.  Three  Investigations  and  what  they  Mean  for 

Commercial  Education 53 

V.   Constructive  Proposals 75 

VI.  Commercial  High  Schools  and  Commercial  Courses 

IN  High  Schools 95 

Appendix 

Letters  from  New  York  Business  Men 155 

Illustrative  Material  Used  in  the  Boston  Inves- 
tigations    183 

Index 191 


Commercial  Education  in  Public  Secondary 
Schools 


COMMERCIAL  EDUCATION  IN 
PUBLIC  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS 

CHAPTER    I 

PRESENT   CONDITIONS    IN   EDUCATION    FOR 
COMMERCIAL   LIFE 

IT  is  hardly  necessary  today  to  argue  for  the  adoption  of 
commercial  education  as  a  part  of  our  system  of  public 
education.  Commercial  education  some  time  ago  passed 
through  the  period  of  struggle  for  recognition;  we  are 
now  asking  ourselves  about  the  value  of  the  kind  of  com- 
mercial education  which  has  established  itself  on  its  present 
firm  foundation  in  our  high  school  system.  Stated  other- 
wise, commercial  education  may  now  be  submitted  to  some 
degree  of  appraisal  to  determine  what  changes  and  adjust- 
ments appear  desirable.  The  obligation  of  making  a  satis- 
factory appraisal  as  a  basis  of  constructive  treatment  is 
consequently  incumbent  on  the  author. 

Commercial  education  has  made  long  strides  within  the 
last  decade,  and  we  are  still  in  the  midst  of  a  rapid  expan- 
sion of  this  type  of  instruction.  A  study  of  conditions  in 
sixteen  of  the  largest  American  cities  (pages  4  to  6)  shows 
a  considerable  proportion  of  all  secondary  school  pupils  en- 
rolled in  commercial  classes.  The  sums  required  for  mainte- 
nance are  consequently  large ;  the  expense  for  buildings  and 
equipment  is  correspondingly  impressive.  We  are  probably 
spending  more  today  for  the  commercial  course  than  for 
any  other  single  course  in  our  secondary  schools.  Out  of 
an  annual  budget  of  $5,000,000  the  city  of  Boston  is  spend- 


2 Commercial  Education 

ing,  in  round  numbers,  about  $700,000  ^  annually  for  com- 
mercial education.  By  the  simple  computation  of  multiply- 
ing the  number  of  commercial  pupils  by  the  per  capita  cost, 
it  will  be  easily  seen  that  similar  sums  are  being  expended  in 
other  large  cities.  The  American  public  is  ready  nowadays 
to  ask  very  searching  questions  about  the  value  of  educa- 
tional projects  in  relation  to  their  cost;  commercial  educa- 
tion, consequently,  constitutes  a  fit  subject  for  investigation 
and,  if  the  need  be  indicated  therefrom,  for  improvement. 

It  is  apparent,  likewise,  that  the  vocational  destinies  of 
a  great  many  boys  and  girls  are  at  stake.  If  our  general 
system  of  commercial  education  needs  to  be  reconstructed, 
if  it  is  not  suited  to  current  demands,  if  our  boys  and  girls 
are  not  being  efficiently  trained,  then  the  injustice  to  many 
thousands  of  children  is  great  indeed.  The  school  assumes 
a  serious  added  responsibility  when  vocational  education  of 
any  kind  is  undertaken,  for  thereby  the  school  more  inti- 
mately than  before  assumes  guardianship  over  the  welfare 
and  destiny  of  the  children. 

Furthermore,  the  welfare  of  commerce  and  industry  is 
vitally  affected  by  commercial  education.  The  expansion 
and  prosperity  of  commerce  is  essential  to  the  well-being  of 
all  of  us.  Industry  has  been  able  to  overcome  in  part  its 
lack  of  skilled  labor  by  the  use  of  automatic  machinery, 
operated  frequently  by  unskilled  laborers;  but  commerce 
must  depend  chiefly,  by  the  nature  of  its  demands,  upon  the 
ability  and  training  of  those  who  are  the  product  of  our 
schools.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  a  notable  period  of  agita- 
tion for  the  better  training  of  industrial  workers.  Progres- 
sive states  are  rapidly  adopting  comprehensive  programs 
for  the  establishment  of  industrial  education.  For  even 
stronger  reasons,  preparatory  training  for  commercial  occu- 
pations must  receive  equally  careful  attention.  We  must 
see  whether  what  we  are  attempting  is  adapted  to  actual 
conditions. 

^  Obtained  by  multiplying  the  number  of  commercial  pupils  in  day  and 
evening  high  schools  by  the  per  capita  cost. 


Present  Conditions  in  Education 


AN  INQUIRY  INTO   THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF   COMMERCIAL 
EDUCATION   IN   SIXTEEN  AMERICAN   CITIES 

The  province  of  this  chapter  is  to  summarize  broadly  the 
present  condition  of  commercial  education,  especially  in  the 
large  cities  of  our  country.  Certain  conditions  of  interest 
and  value  are  evident  from  the  chart  given  on  pages  4  to  6. 
The  data  presented  were  secured  through  personal  corre- 
spondence with  the  superintendents  of  the  various  cities 
enumerated.^  The  questions  asked  of  the  superintendents 
were  intended  to  bring  out  significant  general  facts. 

Questions  Submitted  to  Superintendents 

1.  What  proportion  of  all  secondary  pupils  in  your  city 
are  found  in  commercial  courses?     (Approximate  answer.) 

2.  Do  you  have  a  separate  commercial  high  school,  or 
commercial  courses  in  general  high  schools,  or  both  ? 

3.  Do  you  segregate  the  sexes  in  commercial  instruction? 

4.  Do  commercial  pupils  get  related  academic  work,  e.g., 
commercial  English,  history,  modern  languages? 

If  so,  are  commercial  divisions  in  academic  subjects  dis- 
tinct from  other  divisions,  i.e.,  sections  pursuing  general 
high  school  work? 

5.  Have  you  "intensified"  commercial  courses?  If  so, 
what  years  ? 

6.  Is  salesmanship  a  part  of  your  commercial  work? 

Replies  Received  from  Superintendents 

In  the  following  tabulations  of  the  information  received, 
the  answers  are  stated  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  words 
of  the  informant ;  in  some  cases  exact  quotations  are  given. 

*  In  New  York  and  Boston  more  extensive  studies  were  made  by  the 
author. 


Commercial  Education 


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training  high  schools 

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Commercial  Education 


o 

No.    Except  in  the 
Lucy  Flower.   Ele- 
mentary work  for 
department  store 
girls 

1 

S 

II 

a1 

o  <u 

Yes,  in  Girls'  High 
and  in  Dorchester 
High  and  High 
School  of  Com- 
merce 

Yes.     (Course  of 
study  does  not 
mention  the  study) 

i 

WJ 

Two-year  courses  in 
all  high  schools.    In 
these  are  found  most 
of  the  pupils 

& 

One-  and  two-year 
courses  for  pupils 
who  cannot  remain 

Roxbury  High 
School  for  Girls. 
First  two  years. 
Some  intensification 
in  Girls'  High  and 
Dorchester  High 

li 

■St 

o:a 

1 

W  8 

t 

Where  necessities  of 
organization  make 
it  feasible 

Mostly  for  conven- 
ience of  roster  work- 
ing, but  not  neces- 
sarily 

Receive  related  ac- 
ademic work  in  reg- 
ular classes  where- 
ever  possible 

Yes,  in  High  School 
of  Commerce.    Not 
usual  in  general  high 
schools 

Yes,  to  first  part  of 
question.    Partially 
so  to  second  part  of 
question 

In  part;  EngUsh,  his- 
tory, modern  lan- 
guages, not  separate 
in  some  divisions 

PO 

i 

No  mixed 
high 

schools  in 
the  city 

i 

Not  in  gen- 
eral high 
schools 

o 
12; 

o 

w 

No  separate  school. 
Commercial  courses 
in  all  high  schools 
except  two 

Commercial  courses 
in  general  high 
schools 

Commercial  courses 
in  general  high 
schools 

1 

Separate  high  school 
of  commerce  and 
commercial  course  in 
general  high  schools  2 

w 

If 

About 
33H% 

1 

Approxi- 
mately 

25% 

i 

ti 

.2 

C/3hJ 

1 

.4J 

Present  Conditions  in  Education 


What  the  Answers  Show 

From  replies  to  question  one,  by  reference  to  the  annual 
reports  of  the  various  cities,  it  will  be  a  simple  matter  to 
compute  the  number  of  pupils  and  consequent  cost  of  com- 
mercial courses.^  From  ten  to  sixty  per  cent  of  all  high 
school  pupils  in  our  large  cities  are  enrolled  in  commercial 
courses;  on  an  average,  about  a  third  of  all  pupils  in  the 
cities  studied  are  in  commercial  courses. 

Question  two  was  designed  to  bring  out  the  country-wide 
condition  of  commercial  education  respecting  the  principle 
of  specialization  of  high  school  organization  for  greater 
efficiency.  The  returns  show  that  a  majority  of  the  large 
cities  do  not  maintain  special  commercial  schools.  New 
York,  Boston,  Cleveland,  San  Francisco,  and  Springfield 
have  special  high  schools  of  commerce.  Detroit  has  a 
special  school  in  the  making,  and  Newark  combines  manual 
training  and  commercial  instruction,  while  the  other  cities 
report  commercial  courses  in  general  high  schools. 

The  answers  to  question  three  relate  to  the  segregation 
of  the  sexes  in  commercial  instruction.  Not  a  city  in  the 
list  has  adopted  segregation  as  an  avowed  educational  pol- 
icy. Philadelphia  has  no  mixed  high  schools.  Boston  and 
New  York  have  separate  commercial  high  schools  for  boys, 
but  maintain  mixed  classes  in  general  high  schools.  Cleve- 
land has  a  separate  high  school  of  commerce,  with  no  differ- 
entiation of  work  for  the  sexes.^  We  may  generalize  by 
saying  that  the  country-wide  conception  of  commercial  edu- 
cation is  that  boys  and  girls  meet  the  same  demands  in  busi- 
ness and  can  be  trained  by  the  same  methods,  with  the  same 
materials  of  instruction.  Evidence  will  be  submitted  later 
(Chapter  VI,  New  York  Report,  page  119)  to  show  that 
this  conception  is  untenable ;  because  commerce  has  become, 
or  is  becoming,  as  specialized  as  industry  has  long  been. 

*  See  the  figures  in  the  first  column,  pages  4,  5,  6. 

2  The  course  of  study  indicates  a  separate  arrangement  of  studies,  but 
the  principal  states  that  there  is  no  segregation  of  sexes. 


8  Commercial  Education 

In  limiting  its  efforts  chiefly  to  clerical  accomplishments, 
commercial  education  is  committing  an  error,  at  least  in 
the  training  of  boys.  Apparently  we  are  preparing  our 
boys  for  distinctly  feminine  occupations  in  commerce,  an 
error  as  great  from  a  vocational  standpoint  as  to  fit  boys 
to  become  expert  in  such  industrial  occupations  as  dress- 
making and  millinery.  Evidence  to  substantiate  this  posi- 
tion is  not  lacking.  From  the  Massachusetts  Census  of 
1905,  statistics  dealing  with  the  number  of  males  and 
females  emplo3^ed  as  stenographers  and  typewriters  show 
1338  males  to  10,876  females,  a  ratio  of  one  male  to  eight 
females.  From  special  reports  of  the  United  States  Census 
of  1900  the  following  situation  is  apparent.  "  In  1900 
there  were  85,086  women  sixteen  years  of  age  and  over 
employed  as  stenographers  and  typewriters  in  continental 
United  States.  The  number  thus  engaged  formed  1.8  per 
cent  of  the  total  number  of  gainfully  employed  females 
over  fifteen  years  of  age,  this  occupation  ranking  thirteenth 
among  the  leading  occupations  in  which  more  than  three 
fourths  of  the  total  number  of  adults  employed  were  women. 
Not  only  do  females  form  a  majority  of  those  engaged  in 
this  occupation,  but  their  relative  importance  is  increasing. 
Of  the  total  number  of  persons  ten  years  of  age  and  over 
thus  employed  in  1900,  76.6  per  cent  were  females,  as  com- 
pared with  63.6  per  cent  in  1890.  Moreover,  it  is  only 
among  women  that  the  occupation  is  of  considerable  impor- 
tance. Of  the  female  breadwinners  over  fifteen  years  of 
age,  eighteen  in  every  thousand  were  stenographers,  as  com- 
pared with  only  one  in  every  thousand  among  male  bread- 
winners over  fifteen  years  of  age."  ^ 

Question  four  is  designed  to  bring  out  evidence  concern- 
ing the  relation  of  the  "academic"  work  —  that  is,  non- 
technical work  —  to  the  technical  work.  It  is  evident  that 
the  general  condition  is  not  encouraging.  Usually  English 
is  stated  to  have  a  commercial  flavor,  sometimes  history. 

1  Taken  from  Bulletin  No.  8,  Girls'  Trade  Education  League,  Boston, 
Mass.    Further  evidence  is  given  in  Chapter  VI,  New  York  Report. 


Present  Conditions  in  Education  g 

In  special  high  schools  of  commerce  a  noticeable  attempt  at 
coordination  is  being  made.  Even  in  the  special  commercial 
schools  in  New  York  City,  as  will  be  seen  in  Chapter  VI, 
much  more  should  be  done  than  is  attempted,  and  it  is  not 
improbable  that  the  same  may  be  said  of  most  other  special 
schools.  The  usual  practice  throughout  the  country  is  to 
distribute  commercial  pupils  for  academic  work  in  general 
divisions  of  the  school.  The  courses  of  study  for  commer- 
cial pupils  guarantee  that  the  main  emphasis  will  be  far 
more  academic  than  vocational.^ 

From  the  character  of  some  replies  it  is  evident  that  the 
term  "  related  academic  "  ^  is  variously  understood.  For 
example :  "  Commercial  pupils  get  related  academic  work 
which  is  the  same  as  for  other  courses."  "  Related  aca- 
demic work  is  taught  in  academic  divisions."  "  Pupils  get 
related  academic  work  in  regular  divisions."  It  is  fairly 
obvious  that  there  is  a  noticeable  lack  of  agreement  as  to 
what  processes  or  subjects  constitute  the  fundamental  bases 
for  commercial  education.  It  is  noteworthy,  also,  that  there 
is  sometimes  lacking  among  educators  an  admission  that 
non-technical  subjects  should  be  related  to  vocational  work. 

Question  five  was  designed  to  bring  out  facts  relating  to 
the  emphasis  and  concentration  of  effort  on  commercial  sub- 
jects in  commercial  courses;  also,  to  discover  if  special  op- 
portunity is  provided  for  pupils  who  cannot  remain  through- 
out the  customary  high  school  period.  Some  progress  in 
these  important  matters  is  reported  in  some  of  the  largest 
cities  of  our  country  —  Chicago,  Pittsburgh,  Milwaukee, 
San  Francisco,  and  Boston.  The  Washington  Irving  High 
School  of  New  York  City  has  intensified  commercial  work 
in  the  second  and  third  years  of  a  three-year  course.     The 

*  See  Chapter  VI,  pages  122,  123. 

'  It  is  a  generally  accepted  principle  in  vocational  education  of  any  sort 
that  subjects  such  as  English,  history,  and  mathematics  should  be  closely 
related  to  the  vocation  taught.  "Related  academic  subjects  pertaining  to 
commercial  education"  obviously  means  the  particular  kind  of  English,  his- 
tory, mathematics,  and  other  subjects,  suitable  for  commercial  instruction. 


lo  Commercial  Education 

Roxbury  High  School  of  Boston  has  a  two-year  intensified 
commercial  course  for  graduates  of  elementary  schools,  and 
there  is  some  intensification  of  commercial  work  in  the  third 
and  fourth  years  of  the  Girls'  High  School  and  of  the  Dor- 
chester High  School.  The  term  "  intensified  course  "  is  in- 
terpreted in  two  ways,  not  widely  different.  Some  cities  are 
accustomed  to  call  short  commercial  courses  intensified 
work;  other  cities  use  the  term  to  signify  the  regular  com- 
mercial course  with  a  larger  proportion  of  technical  instruc- 
tion to  general  work  than  is  ordinarily  found.  Short  com- 
mercial courses  are  usually  intensified  in  this  latter  sense, 
since  here  technical  subjects  commonly  are  given  a  greater 
proportion  of  time  in  the  program.  Sometimes  a  four- 
year  course  is  "  intensified  "  in  the  later  years,  resulting  in 
a  concentration  of  effort  upon  technical  subjects,  such  as 
stenography  and  bookkeeping. 

Question  six  was  designed  to  bring  out  evidence  of  a 
larger  conception  of  the  province  of  commercial  education. 
Secondary  commercial  education  up  to  the  present  time  has 
confined  itself  chiefly  to  clerical  training.  The  incorporation 
of  the  subject  of  salesmanship  shows  a  beginning,  at  least, 
of  a  wider  outlook.  The  fact  that  a  majority  of  cities 
report  either  actual  incorporation  of  the  subject  of  salesman- 
ship or  a  plan  for  this  incorporation  lends  encouragement 
to  an  optimistic  conviction  that  commercial  education  is  not 
content  to  remain  permanently  in  a  condition  of  unyielding 
conservatism.  Boston  is  showing  considerable  energy  in 
going  ahead  with  experimental  plans  in  newer  fields  of  com- 
mercial training. 

We  may  profitably  pause  for  a  moment  to  call  attention 
to  the  significance  of   incorporating  salesmanship  in  our 
commercial  courses.     The  teaching  of  salesmanship  under 
,,,  public  school  auspices  apparently  began  in  Boston,  where 

I  an  experiment  was  made  in  the  evening  schools  as  early  as 

1904.  This  work  was  originally  of  the  nature  of  continu- 
ation school  endeavor  and  was  confined  to  the  improve- 
ment of  persons  already  engaged  in  salesmanship  as  an 


Present  Conditions  in  Education  ii 

occupation.  The  High  School  of  Commerce  of  Boston  has 
taught  salesmanship  from  its  beginning,  in  1906.  Two  gen- 
eral high  schools  in  Boston  began  experimental  courses  in 
the  subject  in  the  fall  of  1912  (see  page  82).  Much  credit 
for  carrying  on  the  propaganda  of  the  idea  of  salesman- 
ship as  a  commercial  vocation  is  due  to  the  Women's  Edu- 
cational and  Industrial  Union  of  Boston,  where  a  class  for 
the  training  of  store  workers  and  teachers  of  salesmanship 
has  been  carried  on  for  five  years.  ^  Mention  should  be 
made  of  the  work  in  Chicago,  where  elementary  work  for 
department  store  girls  is  conducted  in  the  Lucy  Flower 
High  School,  and  in  Cleveland,  where  salesmanship  is  re- 
ported in  the  last  year  in  connection  with  other  commercial 
subjects.  Salesmanship,  as  a  subject  taught  to  commercial 
employees,  is  found  in  continuation  schools  in  several  cities, 
notably  in  Cincinnati  and  Boston.  In  the  latter  city  par- 
ticularly, the  work  has  been  carried  on  for  several  years  in 
continuation  schools,  with  a  constantly  expanding  influ- 
ence.^ That  the  schools  should  not  have  seen  in  the  major 
function  of  business  —  viz.,  buying  and  selling  —  a  field 
for  training  is  not  strange,  since  business  itself  has  com- 
paratively recently  recognized  such  a  need.  But  the  need 
today  is  coming  into  clear  recognition  with  business  men, 
with  the  result  that  commercial  education  must  either  keep  y 
abreast  of  current  demands  or  fail  to  meet  a  just  expectation. 


PRESENT    NEEDS   IN    COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION 

Commercial  education  today,  if  we  may  generalize,  needs 
to  be  roused  to  a  clearer  recognition  of  new  duties  and 

*  Mrs.  Lucinda  W.  Prince,  director  of  the  school  of  salesmanship  con- 
nected with  the  Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union,  has  been  a  pioneer 
worker  in  this  new  field  and  has  rendered  conspicuous  service  to  the  cause  of 
public  commercial  education  by  training  teachers  equipped  to  meet  some  of 
the  newer  demands. 

2  The  importance  in  business  of  the  functions  of  buying  and  selling  will 
be  shown  in  the  New  York  Report,  page  no;  also  in  Chapter  IV,  page  67. 


12  Commercial  Education 

expanding  demands.  Here  and  there  are  outposts  who  see 
the  changed  horizon  and  beckon  and  signal  those  behind, 
but  the  great  army  is  lethargic  and  slow  to  rouse.  Too 
many  schools  are  satisfied  to  go  on  as  in  the  past,  paying 
little  heed  to  changing  commercial  demands.  Business 
changes  and  develops  by  evolutionary  processes ;  the  school 
often  progresses  by  abrupt  and  usually  violent  upheavals, 
revolutionary  in  character.  Changes  are  ordinarily  precipi- 
tated by  the  sudden  dissatisfaction  of  citizens,  when  their 
sporadic  attention  fastens  upon  the  schools  and  sees  glaring 
defects,  unheeded  until  they  have  become  oppressive.  If 
we  desire  to  substitute  progress  by  evolution  for  progress 
by  revolution,  we  should  seek  to  establish  a  close  connection 
between  the  schools,  especially  vocational  schools,  and 
steadily  moving  social  and  economic  forces.  Commercial 
education  today  needs  an  awakening  to  new  ideas  and  a 
recognition  of  new  conditions  to  bring  about  a  realization 
of  the  need  of  adjustment.  Manual  training  education  has 
recently  been  greatly  stimulated  and  vivified  by  the  com- 
petition of  industrial  education;  in  fact,  much  of  manual 
training  is  being  made  over  into  industrial  training.  The 
vision  and  revelation  which  have  come  to  manual  training 
are  lacking  as  yet  for  commercial  education. 

There  is  in  promise  no  outside  force  to  spur  and  arouse 
commercial  education,  which  will  be  compelled  to  remodel 
itself  without  the  example  of  an  educational  competitor.  In 
justice  it  ought  to  be  said  that  commercial  education  has 
never  lapsed  into  the  dissociated-from-life  attitude  that 
has  been  so  generally  characteristic  of  manual  training. 
Commercial  education  has  never  made  the  extravagant 
claims  of  general  culture  or  of  psychological  influence  in 
the  way  of  mental  discipline,  by  which  the  adherents  of 
manual  training  have  endeavored  to  maintain  their  cause. 
Commercial  education,  within  the  limits  of  a  restricted 
vision,  has  always  sought  to  keep  close  to  its  objective  field. 
It  has  aimed  to  prepare  for  a  job,  to  enable  the  individual 
pursuing  the  work  to  fit  into  economic  society  and  to  benefit 


Present  Conditions  in  Education  13 

himself  by  meeting  an  evident  demand  for  his  talent.  Com- 
mercial education,  however,  must  be  criticised  for  seeing  its 
field  narrowly,  for  failing  to  recognize  the  newer  demands 
which  a  rapidly  expanding  business  world  is  forced  to  make, 
and  for  ignoring  the  complexities  of  modern  commerce, 
which  have  created  a  whole  new  array  of  commercial  func- 
tions. A  recent  writer  ^  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  in 
industry  twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  industrial  occupations 
of  today  did  not  exist  a  generation  ago.  A  similar  condi- 
tion is  found  in  commerce,  but  commercial  education  has 
shown  no  parallel  adjustment  to  changed  conditions. 

Commercial  education  has  made  a  substantial  develop- 
ment and  improvement  since  its  adoption  into  the  schools. 
Better  accommodations  have  been  provided,  more  adequate 
equipment  and  apparatus  furnished,  teachers,  better  trained 
and  paid,  have  been  employed.  In  this  advance,  however, 
commercial  education  has  progressed  only  with  the  general 
improvement  of  the  school  system.  The  people  have  grown 
in  faith  in  the  worth  of  education;  more  money  has  been 
spent  and  more  opportunities  demanded  in  the  schools. 
Commercial  education  has  advanced  with  the  development 
of  the  school  system,  but  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  growth 
of  business ;  it  has  progressed  with  the  schools,  but  not  with 
business ;  it  has  studied  the  trend  of  the  school,  but  not  the 
trend  of  business ;  its  leadership  has  been  scholastic,  not  ^ 
commercial.  Today,  commercial  education  finds  itself  of 
the  school,  schoolish,  and  not  of  the  business  house,  business- 
like. 

RELATIONS   BETWEEN    COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION    AND    THE 
BUSINESS    WORLD 

This  situation  is  in  part  explained  by  the  process  through 
which  commercial  education  came  into  the  public  schools 
and  by  the  influences  which  have  continually  surrounded 
it.     Commercial  education  was  perhaps  the  first  subject  to 

1  Arthur  D.  Dean,  The  Worker  and  the  State. 


14  Commercial  Education 

be  generally  adopted  by  the  high  school  as  a  concession  to 
the  public  desire  that  the  school  should  furnish  preparation 
for  vocations.  Twenty  years  ago  most  educators  did  not 
believe  in  this  aim  or  sympathize  with  it,  but  the  people,  who 
sporadically  bestir  themselves  about  what  the  schools  are 
doing,  insisted  and  commercial  subjects  were  grudgingly 
admitted  to  the  curriculum.  No  trained  teachers  were  avail- 
able; hence,  through  necessity,  many  untrained  and  incom- 
petent instructors  were  brought  into  the  schools.  In  spite 
of  this,  commercial  education  has  made  a  praiseworthy 
struggle  against  initial  school  prejudice  and  other  obstacles, 
and  today  finds  itself  in  a  relatively  strong  position  com- 
pared with  other  school  enterprises.  The  names  ''  com- 
mercial teacher,"  "  commercial  course,"  and  "  commercial 
pupil  "  are  no  longer  terms  of  school  reproach,  as  was  true 
a  decade  or  so  ago.  Commercial  education  has  been  busy 
establishing  its  position  in  the  school  world,  where  it  has 
felt  the  spur  and  the  whip,  and  has  paid  little  or  no  heed 
to  the  business  world,  where  it  has  found  but  neglect  and 
indifference.  Business,  consequently,  is  in  no  small  degree 
responsible  for  the  chasm  between  the  school  and  business, 
and  for  several  reasons.  The  business  world  has  paid  but 
little  heed  to  commercial  education,  to  the  character  of 
courses  of  study,  to  the  efficiency  of  teachers,  or  to  the 
encouragement  and  development  of  the  idea  of  commercial 
training.  This  assertion  cannot  be  made  of  business  men 
of  certain  progressive  foreign  countries,  but  it  is  particu- 
larly true  of  our  country  and  of  England.  Mr.  Herrick  ^ 
points  out  as  an  exception  the  example  of  the  London  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  which  has  been  largely  instrumental  in  cre- 
ating and  fostering  commercial  education  in  England,  and  by 
an  examination  method  has  created  a  system  of  awards  to 
commercially  trained  persons.  The  Chambers  of  Commerce 
of  Boston  and  New  York  have  quite  recently  shown  an 
active  interest  in  the  subject  and  have  appointed  special 

*  Meaning  and  Practice  of  Commercial  Education. 


Present  Conditions  in  Education  15 

committees  to  cooperate  with  school  authorities  in  matters 
of  improvement  respecting  commercial  education.  But 
these  instances  have  been  too  rare  and  have  not  as  yet  vitally 
affected  the  policies  of  commercial  education,  v^hich,  left 
so  largely  to  its  own  devices,  has  felt  that  it  owes  its  alle- 
giance first  to  the  general  school  system  and  only  remotely 
to  business.  Again,  business  itself  has  only  recently  begun 
to  feel  the  influence  of  the  application  of  scientific  prin- 
ciples. No  definite  formulation  of  business  standards  and 
demands  has  been  obtainable  by  the  schools.  The  schools, 
manifestly,  could  not  train  for  important  needs  of  which 
the  business  man  himself  was  uncertain.  Only  the  clerical 
demands  of  business  have  for  a  long  time  been  fairly  defi- 
nite and  standardized,  and  these  needs  the  schools  have  seen 
and  met  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  success. 

In  the  New  York  Report  (Chapter  VI)  will  be  seen  evi- 
dence showing  the  disagreement  among  business  men  re- 
specting the  essentials  of  comimercial  education.  There  has 
been  in  the  past  no  widespread  faith  in  commercial  educa- 
tion on  the  part  of  business  men.  True  it  is  that  the  business 
man  who  needs  a  stenographer  or  a  bookkeeper  will  apply 
to  a  business  school  for  such  an  employee;  but  when  he 
wants  a  real  apprentice,  a  young  man  to  learn  the  business, 
he  commonly  has  far  more  faith  in  native  endowment  than 
in  any  amount  of  specialized  training.  This  last  statement 
is  not  intended  to  be  a  criticism.  It  may  very  probably  be 
that  the  business  man  has  been  right  in  his  instincts  and  im- 
pressions, but  with  the  application  of  scientific  principles  to 
business,  as  in  all  other  pursuits,  the  importance  of  training 
must  needs  become  increasingly  apparent.  Native  endow- 
ment not  supplemented  with  training  will  eventually  be  as 
unprofitable  in  business  as  it  recognizably  is  in  the  many 
other  occupations  which  have  already  progressed  to  a  stage 
of  development  beyond  that  attained  by  business. 

The  result  of  this  separation  of  method  and  interest  be- 
tween commercial  education  and  actual  business  puts  com- 
mercial education  at  a  disadvantage  when  compared  with  in- 


i6  Commercial  Education 

dustrial  education.  There  is  a  curious  dissimilarity  between 
the  methods  and  general  characteristics  of  the  two  forms  of 
applied  education,  whereas  seemingly  there  is  every  reason 
for  close  similarity.  Industrial  education  has  been  fortu- 
nate in  the  causes  and  conditions  to  which  it  owes  its  incep- 
tion. The  movement  sprang  from  cooperation  between  the 
two  interested  parties,  the  factory  and  the  school.  Indus- 
trial education  has  insisted  upon  freedom  from  scholastic 
traditions  and  customs.  It  has  asked  a  chance  to  shape  its 
own  destiny  and  it  has  not  been  afraid  to  tread  untrodden 
pedagogical  paths.  Whatever  may  result  from  this  new 
and  important  departure  from  pedagogical  traditions,  the 
foundations  have  been  wisely  and  firmly  laid. 

THE  SPECIAL  PROBLEM  OF  COMMERCIAL  EDUCATION  TODAY 

Commercial  education  has  become  firmly  rooted  in  our 
school  system  under  very  different  conditions.  It  did  not 
begin  as  a  cooperative  movement  —  business  sharing  the 
burden  with  the  school.  It  was  a  school  enterprise  in  the 
beginning,  and  on  the  whole  bears  the  characteristics  of  a 
school  enterprise  today.  The  problem  of  commercial  edu- 
cation today  is  beset  with  particular  and  burdensome  diffi- 
culties. In  the  main,  the  problem  is  to  reconstruct  the 
edifice.  It  would  be  far  easier  and  simpler,  perhaps,  to 
erect  a  new  structure;  but  this  is  not  practicable.  Our 
investment  is  made,  our  building  is  erected,  and  great 
numbers  of  workers,  conscientious  and  deserving,  have 
given  their  lives  to  the  task  in  a  service  as  honest  as  any 
could  be,  and  as  efficient,  perhaps,  as  conditions  made 
possible.  As  a  general  principle,  in  improving  an  estab- 
lished educational  system  the  factory  custom  of  scrap- 
heaping  is  not  possible.  Education,  like  government,  has 
been  obliged  to  proceed  by  the  method  of  adaptation  and 
adjustment. 

Commercial  education,  however,  must  recognize  the 
need  of  readjustment.     Though  the  excuses  for  the  pres- 


Present  Conditions  in  Education  ly 

ent  state  of  affairs  are  many  and  good,  they  explain  only 
the  past  and  do  not  justify  a  continuation  of  the  present 
situation.  The  business  man  has  his  obligation  no  less 
than  the  schoolmaster.  He  cannot  continue  to  criticise 
and  complain;  he  must  take  hold  and  lift.  It  is  fortunate 
that  the  competitive  conditions  of  business  today  aid  in 
urging  such  cooperation.  The  "  store  school "  ^  in  pro- 
gressive business  houses  is  becoming  more  and  more  com- 
mon because  a  higher  degree  of  service  is  demanded. 
Educational  courses  looking  toward  higher  standards  of 
efficiency  can  eventually  be  more  profitably  furnished  in 
a  regularly  organized  school,  which,  when  properly  guided, 
can  compete  in  its  special  function  better  than  a  business 
organization  can  compete  outside  its  own  field.  The  proper 
economic  and  effective  plan  is  for  the  two  forces  to  unite: 
the  school  to  teach  related  theory  (those  aspects  of  business 
which  can  be  organized  into  courses  of  instruction),  and 
business  to  guide  and  counsel  the  teacher  and  to  offer  the 
business  house  as  the  workshop  of  practical  experience. 
The  business  house  cannot  make  the  best  and  most  perma- 
nent achievement  with  "  an  actual  school  in  the  business 
house/'  any  more  than  the  school  has  been  able  to  succeed 
with  the  plan  of  "  an  actual  business  in  the  school." 
Let  us  adopt  the  sounder  principle  of  industrial  education 
which  might  be  stated  as  follows :  "  Actual  education  in  the 
shop  and  in  the  school." 

There  is  in  this  country  today  no  commercial  school 
which  has  the  definite  connection  with  business  that  effec- 
tive industrial  schools  have  with  productive  shops.  The 
problem  of  tying  up  the  commercial  school  to  the  business 
house  is  far  more  complex  than  is  the  problem  of  co- 
operation between  the  shop  and  the  industrial  school.  The 
problem  of  relating  academic  work  to  industrial  training 
has  presented  no  extraordinary  difficulties,  but  the  way  is 
not  so  plain  in  dealing  with  commercial  education.     Points 

*  Sometimes  known  as  the  "corporation  school." 


1 8  Commercial  Education 

of  view  are  widely  divergent  as  to  what  should  constitute 
a  program  of  studies.  Manufacturers  are  in  substantial 
agreement  about  the  related  academic  and  technical  work 
which  should  be  elements  of  industrial  training  —  mechani- 
cal drawing,  shop  mathematics,  industrial  history,  and  the 
like.  No  such  agreement  is  discoverable  amongst  business 
men.  Some  business  men  exalt  moral  training,  stating  that 
honesty,  integrity,  good  manners,  and  truthfulness  are  the 
prime  essentials  of  a  business  education.  (See  Appendix, 
pages  1 5 5- 1 8 1.)  These  persons  express  indifference  con- 
cerning the  specific  character  of  school  programs  and  would 
as  soon  employ  the  graduate  of  a  Latin  School  as  the 
graduate  of  any  other  school.  Other  business  men,  and 
they  are  perhaps  in  the  majority,  emphasize  the  importance 
of  such  personal  endowments  as  accuracy,  quickness,  adap- 
tability —  qualities  which  are  the  product  of  no  particular 
course  of  study  and  of  no  particular  type  of  school.  For 
certain  functions  of  business,  such  as  the  clerical  ones,  busi- 
ness men  expect  specific  training;  and  such  training  now 
constitutes  the  bulk  of  the  business  preparation  given  in 
the  schools.^ 

It  is  evident  that  a  strict  analogy  between  industrial  and 
commercial  education  is  at  present  impossible.  The  reason 
is  very  likely  inherent  in  the  nature  of  the  two  economic 
processes,  production  and  distribution.  Of  the  two,  the 
distributive  process  (business)  seems  to  be  more  complex 
and  to  require  for  effective  administration  a  larger  number 
of  different  types  of  individuals.  Other  broad  differences 
between  the  fundamental  processes  of  production  and  of 
distribution  may  be  noted  which  must  ere  long  have  their 
effect  in  educational  programs.  Industry  deals  primarily 
with  the  modification  of  inanimate  material,  while  com- 
merce deals  more  specifically  with  human  adjustments. 
The  resulting  educational  principles  are  important,  and  the 
reasons  for  the  greater  complexities  of  commercial  educa- 

1  See  Chapter  VI,  page  115. 


Present  Conditions  in  Education  19 

tion  become  clearer.  A  program  of  studies  for  a  commer- 
cial school  undoubtedly  will  need  to  have  far  more  of  the 
human  studies  than  does  the  program  of  an  industrial 
school.  There  will  need  to  be  more  English,  modern  lan- 
guages, and  aesthetic  studies.  These  subjects  are  found 
universally  in  commercial  school  programs,  but  we  have 
made  the  mistake  of  not  teaching  these  liberalizing  subjects 
with  a  vocational  objective.  We  have  too  uniformly  taught 
the  English,  the  modern  languages,  and  the  art  of  college 
preparatory  schools,  and  failed  to  teach  these  subjects  from 
the  point  of  view  of  their  use  in  commerce.  Certainly  ex- 
perience has  shown  that  definiteness  of  aim  in  pursuing 
school  subjects  has  a  high  motivating  value  for  that  large 
class  of  pupils  who  cannot  be  interested  in  subjects  wherein 
deferred  values  are  the  chief  incentives  for  effort.  Thou- 
sands of  young  men  and  women  are  found  in  evening 
courses  labeled  "  civil  service,"  consisting  mostly  of  funda- 
mental grammar  school  subjects,  such  as  history,  geography, 
arithmetic,  and  grammar.  Because  these  subjects  lead 
toward  the  goal  of  ambition,  mature  students  industriously 
pursue  them,  which  would  not  be  the  case  were  the 
same  subjects  offered  merely  for  general  information  and 
improvement. 

To  claim,  as  is  frequently  done,  that  high  school  courses 
as  now  organized  for  academic  or  college  preparatory  pur- 
poses form  an  appropriate  equipment  for  the  non-technical 
part  of  a  commercial  school  program,  is  to  beg  the  ques- 
tion. None  will  deny  that  the  pupil  who  succeeds  with  this 
sort  of  mental  training  is  not  at  a  disadvantage,  but  the 
injustice  is  to  that  large  number  who  would  be  effective 
recruits  for  commerce,  although  they  do  not  succeed  in 
abstract  academic  work.  The  dropping  out  of  commercial 
pupils  from  high  schools  forms  a  startling  feature  of  cur- 
rent school  statistics.  The  New  York  study  presents  details 
of  this  situation.^     While  the  causes  of  these  desertions 

*  See  page  97. 


20  Commercial  Education 

are  many,  one  undeniable  cause  is  the  failure  of  pupils  to 
succeed  in  a  scheme  of  unrelated  and  unsuitable  academic 
work.  It  is  recognized,  of  course,  that  the  whole  problem 
of  elimination  from  high  schools  is  serious.  For  our  pub- 
lic high  schools  to  go  on  cheerfully  eliminating  from  fifty 
to  ninety  per  cent  of  all  pupils  who  enter,  constitutes  a 
procedure  which  must  indicate  one  of  two  things:  either 
our  courses  are  not  suited  to  the  average  intelligence  of 
that  already  selected  group  who  have  persisted  through  the 
elementary  school,  or  we  must  bring  a  strong  indictment 
against  the  average  young  mind  as  incapable  of  receiving 
secondary  instruction.  We  shall  not  wish  to  admit  this 
second  proposition,  nor  can  we,  in  the  face  of  a  growing 
body  of  investigation  upon  the  subject  of  elimination  from 
school,  assign  other  significant  reasons  not  stated  here.  The 
studies  of  the  Douglass  Commission  of  Massachusetts,  of 
Van  Denberg,  and  of  Miss  Barrows  in  New  York  agree 
closely  that  it  is  not  economic  pressure  chiefly  which  drives 
the  pupil  out  of  school,  but  mainly  conditions  within  the 
school  and  under  its  control.  Our  public  high  schools  can- 
not continue  to  pursue  an  aristocratic  ideal  by  insisting  upon 
standards  of  their  own  choice,  but  must  seek  standards 
essentially  democratic  and  possible  of  achievement.  The 
present  figures  of  elimination  and  retention  ought  to  be 
reversed  if  our  high  schools  wish  to  attain  or  retain  full 
public  confidence. 

To  some  this  admonition  will  appear  to  be  a  plea  for 
lowering  school  standards,  but  the  change  recommended  is 
not  one  of  degree,  but  one  of  essential  conception  and  con- 
stitution of  high  school  courses.  No  claim  is  set  forth 
that  the  kind  of  remodeled  courses  we  need  are  easy  of 
definition;  nor  will  definitions  be  attempted  at  this  point. 
We  must  proceed  to  formulate  new  courses  through  the 
method  of  experiment  and  constructive  organization.  We 
must  formulate  tentatively,  proceed  courageously,  maintain 
honestly;  then  measure  and  appraise  our  results;  and 
finally,  incorporate  additions  or  changes  to  which  the  re- 


Present  Conditions  in  Education  21 

suits  obtained  lead  us.  This  procedure  is  but  the  applica- 
tion of  the  scientific  method  to  an  educational  problem, 
and  it  is  but  a  natural  public  expectation  that  in  determin- 
ing its  own  vital  policies  the  school,  which  has  fostered 
science,  should  itself  adopt  scientific  methods  of  procedure. 
It  should  be  stated  as  a  broad  summary  that  commercial 
education  is  in  a  receptive  mood  today.  Hopeful  experi- 
ment and  earnest  readjustment  are  found  in  numerous  com- 
munities. Commercial  education  in  the  main  is  willing  to 
learn,  is  not  restive  under  criticism,  has  no  blind  adherence 
to  past  or  present  traditions.  Instances  of  the  willingness 
of  communities  to  experiment  in  improved  forms  of  com- 
mercial education  are  seen  in  the  establishment  of  special 
high  schools  of  commerce.  Boston,  for  example,  main- 
tained for  years  clerical  commercial  education  in  general 
high  schools  which  furnished  sufficient  provision  for  all 
pupils  desiring  this  kind  of  work.  A  special  high  school 
of  commerce  in  Boston  was  established  in  1906  to  furnish 
a  different  kind  of  commercial  instruction,  to  experiment 
with  a  new  idea  of  commercial  training.  This  idea  was 
mainly  to  furnish  to  young  men  a  preparation  for  commer- 
cial opportunities  other  than  clerical.  Other  cities  have  been 
enumerated  in  this  chapter  showing  like  progressive  ten- 
dencies, and  they  all  illustrate,  as  far  as  they  go,  the  hopeful 
attitude  of  American  communities  toward  the  problem  of 
placing  commercial  education  upon  a  more  efficient  and  ade- 
quate basis. 


CHAPTER   II 

SCHOOL    ORGANIZATION    AND    TEACHERS    IN 
COMMERCIAL    EDUCATION 

WE  have  said  that  the  subject  matter  and  methods  of 
commercial  education  are  characteristic  of  the  school 
far  more  than  of  business.  Nowhere  is  this  more  apparent 
than  in  high  school  organization  as  it  affects  commercial 
courses.  The  trend  of  business  is  toward  uniformity 
throughout  the  country,  but  there  is  no  similar  tendency  in 
commercial  education.  Business  practices  in  Boston  and 
St.  Louis  undoubtedly  are  quite  similar,  but  preparatory 
education  for  commerce  in  these  two  cities  differs  widely 
(see  page  6).  The  differences  in  high  school  organiza- 
tion are  caused  by  adherence  to  the  particular  pedagogi- 
cal fashions  obtaining  in  different  communities.  There  is 
marked  disagreement  as  to  whether  commercial  education 
should  be  conducted  as  one  course  among  several  courses 
in  a  general  high  school,  or  in  a  special  school  devoted  to 
the  single  aim.  Different  sections  of  the  country  apparently 
are  committed  to  particular  educational  beliefs  in  this  mat- 
ter. The  East  is  turning  to  the  special  school,  while  certain 
sections  of  the  West  are  emphatic  in  their  adherence  to  the 
general,  or  "  complete,"  high  school. 

THE    "  COMPLETE,!'    OR   GENERAL^    HIGH   SCHOOL 

The  arguments  for  the  "  complete,"  or  general,  high 
school  are  well  stated  in  the  following  quotation  taken  from 
an  address  of  W.  J.  C.  Bryan  before  the  North  Central 
Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools  at  its  eight- 
eenth annual  meeting. 


School  Organization  and  Teachers  23 

"  I.  For  a  very  large  part  of  the  nation  no  other  kind 
of  school  would  be  possible  or  practical  on  account  of 
the  cost  of  establishment  and  maintenance. 

"  2.  Small  towns  and  rural  communities  that  now  sup- 
port one  high  school  feebly  could  not  be  persuaded, 
should  not  be  expected,  to  assume  the  cost  of  provid- 
ing another,  especially  when  the  number  of  pupils  hardly 
suffices  for  one. 

"  3.  Additional  courses  necessary  to  meet  the  wants 
of  the  community  may  be  supplied  much  more  readily 
and  economically  than  entire  new  schools. 

"  4.  Only  in  large  cities  that  maintain  several  high 
schools  could  this  question  be  entirely  practical.  Ac- 
cording to  the  average  percentage  of  pupils  enrolled  in 
the  high  school,  towns  under  ten  thousand  inhabitants 
would  not  be  likely  to  furnish  more  than  two  or  three 
hundred  pupils  at  the  outside. 

"  5.  Even  in  large  cities  maintaining  several  high 
schools,  the  cost  of  time  and  carfare,  which  would  be 
necessary  on  account  of  distances  to  be  traveled,  would 
be  an  item  equal  to  one  fifth  of  the  per  capita  charge 
to  be  borne  by  the  community,  a  burden  so  heavy  that 
it  could  not  be  carried  by  many,  and  would  result  in 
serious  diminution  of  numbers,  precluding  a  choice  of 
the  course  to  be  taken,  and  deterring  the  boy  or  girl 
from  going  further. 

"6.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  atmosphere  of  the 
specialized  school  is  so  natural  or  so  healthy  as  that  of 
the  complete  high  school.  That  which  is  offered  as  a 
special  advantage  is  likely  to  prove  a  disadvantage;  the 
narrowing  effect  of  associating  with  pupils  of  the  same 
tastes  and  aptitudes  and  outlook  could  not  well  be  help- 
ful. It  is  not  likely  to  result  in  breadth  of  view  or 
right  perspective.  Mingling  with  other  people  of  dif- 
ferent tastes  is  broadening,  corrective  of  bias,  produc- 
tive of  kindly  feeling.  Just  as  it  is  one  of  the  best 
results  of  college  life  that  a  student  meets  men  from 


24  Commercial  Education 

other  communities  and  sections,  so  it  is  of  great  value 
to  boys  and  girls  of  the  high  school  to  meet  and  talk 
with  those  who  have  other  tastes  and  aptitudes  and  a 
different  outlook. 

"  7.  There  is  danger  in  early  specialization.  The 
youth  who  enters  the  high  school  has  little  knowledge 
of  the  world's  work.  The  high  school  is  to  give  him  ex- 
tended vision,  to  show  him  the  avenues  of  activity  that 
are  open  to  him.  If  instead  of  enabling  him  to  find 
himself  and  his  field  of  action  by  disclosing  to  him  his 
powers,  his  tastes,  his  natural  tendencies,  it  directs  his 
efforts  into  some  one  particular  channel,  it  may  do  him 
irreparable  harm.  Early  specialization  stands  in  danger 
of  joining  hands  with  industry  and  commerce  in  the 
exploitation  of  youth. 

"  8.  The  complete  high  school  is  likely  to  be  judicial 
in  its  attitude  toward  different  subjects  of  study,  not 
unduly  exalting  some  at  the  expense  of  others,  not 
over-persuading  any  one  against  his  will  or  inclination. 
It  offers  the  greatest  latitude  in  the  choice  of  studies, 
and  makes  it  possible  to  change  course  with  the  least 
loss. 

"  9.  The  presence  in  the  same  school  of  pupils  pur- 
suing different  courses  of  study,  having  special  equip- 
ment suited  to  special  needs,  is  a  source  of  education,  a 
means  of  forming  a  judgment  as  to  the  actual  effect 
and  desirability  of  these  different  courses.  It  is  broad- 
ening in  its  effects,  constantly  advertising  the  diversity 
of  directions  in  which  men  and  women  may  profitably 
labor,  discovering  to  each  one  his  own  aptitude  for 
service. 

"  10.  Democratic  institutions  are  jeopardized  by  the 
estrangement  of  different  classes  of  workers,  and  by 
the  misunderstandings  and  jealousies  resulting  from 
ignorance  of  work  and  workers,  which  gives  free  play 
to  false  imaginings  as  to  the  character  and  quality  of 
persons  engaged  in  unknown  lines  of  employment.     If 


School  Organization  and  Teachers  25 

these  workers  grow  up  together,  learn  to  know  and 
respect  those  who  choose  other  avenues  of  activity, 
there  will  be  in  knowledge  so  obtained  the  best  pre- 
ventive of  estrangement  or  misunderstanding  in  the 
future. 

"11.  To  build  up  walls  of  partition  between  pupils 
who  are  taking  the  classical  course  and  pupils  who  are 
taking  the  manual  training  course  or  the  domestic  sci- 
ence course  or  the  art  course  or  the  scientific  course  or 
the  commercial  course  or  the  agricultural  course,  or  be- 
tween pupils  of  any  t\vo  courses,  by  segregating  each 
group  in  its  own  building,  is  to  magnify  unessential  dif- 
ferences and  to  create  classes,  unnecessarily  exalting  the 
work  above  the  worker,  losing  the  man  in  the  stuff  with 
which  he  earns  the  means  of  living. 

"  12.  One  of  the  most  valuable  contributions  the  high 
school  makes  to  the  education  of  its  pupils  is  its  social 
training,  which  is  dependent  upon  the  presence  of  pupils 
of  both  sexes  and  various  degrees  of  social  intelligence^ 
and  culture.  It  is  a  matter  of  common  observation  that 
refinement  of  manner  and  the  habitual  observance  of 
proprieties  of  time  and  place  become  the  characteristic 
of  high  school  pupils  during  their  course  in  a  school 
attended  by  boys  and  girls  of  all  predilections  as  to  life 
work." 

The  above  lengthy  quotation  states  the  moral,  pedagogi- 
cal, and  social  reasons  for  the  kind  of  high  school  organiza- 
tion known  as  the  general,  or  "  complete,"  high  school, 
which  is  the  prevailing  type  in  the  smaller  cities  of  the  coun- 
try. The  arguments  presented  are  pertinent,  comprehensive, 
and  appealing,  and  those  who  agree  with  Mr.  Bryan  would 
seem,  perhaps,  to  have  an  adequate  basis  for  their  assent. 
Communities  adopting  the  general  high  school  as  the  more 
desirable  type  will,  as  a  consequence,  expect  that  commer- 
cial, industrial,  and  household  arts  courses,  as  well  as  older 
subjects,  will  be  offered  in  the  same  school.    It  is,  of  course, 


26  Commercial  Education 

apparent  that  the  possible  achievements  of  speciahzed 
courses  will  be  limited  or  advanced  by  the  resources  and 
opportunities  of  the  general  high  school  plan. 

No  one  will  challenge  the  social  and  moral  ideals  set  up 
in  the  argument  by  Mr.  Bryan,  but  many,  including  the 
author,  will  dissent  from  the  assumption  that  they  are  only 
to  be  realized  adequately  in  the  general  high  school.  We 
may  point  out,  at  this  juncture,  what  we  believe  to  be  the 
weakness  of  the  position  of  those  who  maintain  the  superior- 
ity of  the  general  high  school  as  an  effective  instrument  for 
meeting  current  educational  and  industrial  needs.  The 
[  quoted  arguments  for  the  complete  high  school  neglect  the 
i  consideration  of  one  essential  principle,  viz.,  efficiency.  The 
assumption  is  that  a  complete  high  school  can  do  many 
things  as  well  as  a  number  of  special  schools  can  separately 
do  particular  things,  and  this  is  a  large  assumption.  Busi- 
ness and  industry  today  proceed  upon  very  different  prin- 
ciples. The  fundamental  economic  law  operating  in  indus- 
trial society  is  that  efficiency  is  the  result  of  specialization. 
Can  the  schools  adequately  train  for  economic  society  upon 
an  entirely  different  principle  ? 

Ought  the  schools  to  set  up  ideals  independent  of  social 
and  economic  conditions,  to  create  an  atmosphere  deemed 
superior  by  the  schools  which  is  artificial  and  different  from 
actual  conditions,  so  that  the  pupil  is  bewildered  and  help- 
less when  thrust  into  the  realities  of  life  found  in  business 
and  industry?  Shall  the  school  prepare  for  life  upon  a 
scheme  of  its  own  choosing,  with  its  own  standards  and 
scholastic  ideals,  or  shall  we  join  the  school  to  our  other 
social  institutions,  and  train  for  life  by  living  methods,  with 
real  standards,  by  making  the  school  reflect  the  economic 
and  social  conditions  into  which  the  pupils  are  going?  If 
the  chief  function  of  the  public  school  is  to  fit  pupils  for 
"  complete  "  living  according  to  the  ideal  type  assumed  by 
many  schoolmen  and  sentimentalists,  then  only  may  the 
practical  standards  of  efficiency  and  reality  be  sacrificed  for 
more  ethereal  advantages,  and  our  program  for  vocational 


School  Organisation  and  Teachers  27 

education  must  be  undertaken  by  school  agencies  other  than 
those  now  existing.^ 

It  remains  to  be  proved  that  boys  need  the  presence  of 
girls  in  the  classroom  for  refining  and  socializing  purposes. 
This  again  is  an  assumption,  and  there  is  a  great  body  of 
evidence  in  this  country  and  abroad  which  might  be  adduced 
to  the  contrary.  The  loss  of  the  democratic  principle  by 
segregating  pupils  into  special  schools  sounds  ominous  and 
if  true  would  give  us  pause.  But  can  it  be  demonstrated 
that  this  is  necessarily  the  case?  May  this  not  well  be  a 
bogy-man  of  the  schoolmaster?  No  school  system  con- 
ducted under  a  segregated  sex  plan  reports  this  evil  as  an 
adverse  result.  Our  boys  and  girls  will  go  into  segregated 
industries,  vocations,  or  occupations,  and  may  well  begin 
in  the  secondary  school,  the  finishing  school  for  the  major- 
ity, to  face  vocational  conditions.  The  counsel  that  early 
specialization  is  avoided  by  the  "  complete  "  high  school 
may  be  true,  but  not  on  that  account  can  it  be  proved  supe- 
rior. In  this  country  choice  of  a  vocation  is  delayed  beyond 
that  found  in  any  other  nation,  but  have  the  beneficial  re- 
sults been  such  as  to  prolong  choice  still  further  ?  To  delay 
choice  for  the  average  secondary  pupil  is  to  prevent  the 
pursuit  of  a  systematic  training  for  the  vocation  chosen. 

Evils  there  are  in  the  world,  and  we  wish  to  shield  our 
children  as  long  as  possible.  All  of  the  arguments  presented 
for  the  "  complete  "  high  school  are  worthy  of  serious  con- 
sideration, but  in  the  end  we  are  faced  with  the  stubborn 
alternatives:  Are  we  to  train  our  boys  and  girls  for  a 
Utopia  or  for  the  real  world  into  which  they  are  going? 

We  desire  our  boys  and  girls  while  in  high  school  to 
enjoy  an  environment  as  favorable  as  possible  in  its  social, 
moral,  civic,  and  intellectual  conditions,  but  many  will  desire 
in  addition  sound,  practical,  and  effective  vocational  train- 

*  There  is  a  distinct  movement  in  this  country  to  establish  newer  voca- 
tional schools  entirely  distinct  from  schools  now  existing.  The  reasons  are 
frankly  a  challenge  to  the  spirit,  capacities,  and  sympathies  of  those  who 
today  control  the  policies  of  our  public  schools. 


28  Commercial  Education 

ing.  For  many  patrons  a  kind  of  high  school  organization 
which  produces  either  result  without  the  other  fails  to 
achieve  its  purpose;  what  is  desirable,  consequently,  is  a 
type  of  high  school  organization  which  is  effective  in  both 
I  relations ;  an  institution  meeting  this  proper  double  expec- 
/  tation  might  aptly  be  called  a  complete  high  school. 

THE   RELATION    BETWEEN    COMMERCIAL    COURSES   AND    THE 
SOCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL  STRUCTURE 

For  our  present  purposes,  this  dissent  from  the  arguments 
of  Mr.  Bryan  is  to  show  the  setting  of  commercial  education 
in  its  school  background.^  The  problem  of  commercial  edu- 
cation is  vitally  bound  up  in  general  school  problems;  for 
what  is  deemed  wise  as  a  usual  school  procedure  makes  the 
conditions  underlying  the  possibility  of  achievement  of  the 
commercial  school  or  course.  Thus  we  find  the  varia- 
tion of  practice  respecting  ways  of  organizing  commercial 
courses.  One  section  of  the  country,  which  looks  upon  the 
high  school  as  a  retreat  from  the  evils  of  the  world,  will 
undertake  commercial  courses  in  accordance  with  a  plan 
which  embodies  that  conviction.  Another  section,  which 
believes  in  the  superiority  of  coeducation  on  an  educational 
or  social  principle,  will  insist  in  making  commercial  courses 
coeducational.  Actual  business  procedure,  as  we  have 
indicated,  may  have  uniformity  throughout  these  various 
sections  of  the  country,  but  this  fact  has  no  influence  upon 
the  organization  of  commercial  education. 

A  similar  situation  exists  with  respect  to  commercial  pro- 
grams of  study ;  here  again  local  educational  fashion  rather 
than  actual  business  needs  is  the  decisive  factor.  There  are, 
indeed,  instances  more  glaring  of  disparity  between  com- 
mercial courses  of  study  and  business  demands  than  in  mat- 
ters of  school  organization.  Programs  of  study  from  San 
Francisco  and  Los  Angeles  contain  the  subjects  stenography 

*  Chapter  III,  pages  37  to  43,  deals  with  other  issues  raised  by  Mr.  Bryan. 


School  Organization  and  Teachers  29 

and  typewriting  for  the  seventh  and  eighth  years  of  the  ele- 
mentary school.^  It  is  quite  certain  that  there  is  no  justi- 
fication by  reason  of  actual  business  practice  for  the  early 
introduction  of  these  technical  subjects.  Again  is  seen  the 
domination  of  the  school  in  deciding  independently  the 
essentials  for  vocational  preparation.  The  intermediate 
school,  or  the  earlier  beginning  of  the  secondary  program 
of  studies,  is  undoubtedly  a  progressive  educational  step; 
but  in  making  this  advance  there  is  often  little  care  taken 
that  vocational  subjects  early  attempted  are  adapted  to  the 
stage  of  maturity  and  to  the  capacities  of  young  pupils. 

In  order  to  obtain  efficiency  in  commercial  courses  or 
other  vocational  courses,  we  must  get  away  from  the  notion 
that  the  school  is  an  institution  separate  from  our  social  and 
industrial  structure,  —  that  the  school,  independent  from 
industrial  and  social  forces,  has  the  right  to  initiate  and 
conceive  its  own  functions  and  activities.  As  long  as  the 
school  was  absorbed  in  the  classical  or  general  cultural  ideal, 
difficulties  were  fewer.  But  now  that  the  school  has  wid- 
ened its  purpose  and  is  beginning  to  assume  the  burden 
of  preparing  for  vocations,  a  different  procedure  must  needs 
be  adopted.  Instead  of  dwelling  in  academic  shades  and 
transmitting  only  the  facts  of  traditional  culture,  the  school- 
master, if  he  is  to  pass  intelligently  upon  vocational  ques- 
tions, must  get  out  and  study  the  realities  of  industrial 
society,  and  become  a  worker  and  server  among  the  prosaic 
crowds  of  his  fellow  men. 

Commercial  courses  of  study  and  matters  of  organiza- 
tion, it  is  needless  to  say,  should  be  founded  upon  actual 
business  conditions.  Pedagogical  fashions  and  scholastic 
notions  should  not  be  allowed,  as  at  present,  to  dominate 
and  control  these  matters.  For  commercial  education  the 
vital  necessity  at  the  present  time  is  to  know  what  are  busi- 
ness needs  and  business  demands.^  To  this  end,  systematic 
study  of  business  conditions  affecting  commercial  education 

*  Also  contained  in  proposal  for  New  York  City;   see  page  51. 

*  Bulletin  No.  3,  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Education. 


30  Commercial  Education 

should  be  undertaken.^  We  have  the  example  of  special 
commissions  studying  industrial  conditions  in  their  relation 
to  industrial  education,  and  as  a  result  industrial  schools  are 
being  founded  in  a  practical  and  effective  manner.  The 
results  of  industrial  investigations  have  had  a  marked  effect 
upon  what  the  schools  were  already  offering  as  industrial 
education,  that  is,  manual  training,  which  was  often  the  con- 
ception of  the  school  of  industrial  training.  A  clear  and 
sharp  line  has  been  recognized  and  drawn  between  the  two 
types  of  educational  endeavor  and  each  today  is  filling 
better  its  special  function.  It  is  very  probable  that  some 
such  similar  effect  will  be  the  result  of  a  close  study  of 
business  needs;  and  it  is  also  probable  that  what  we  have 
today  as  commercial  education  will  be  found  to  occupy  the 
relation  to  business  that  manual  training  in  the  past  has 
occupied  to  industry. 

Who  shall  make  the  essential  investigations  into  business 
conditions  and  interpret  their  import  for  commercial  edu- 
cation ?  Not  the  school  man  unaided,  surely,  nor  the  business 
man  unassisted,  but  a  cooperative  body  of  representatives 
of  both  callings.  As  already  stated,  we  shall  not  so  easily 
or  so  quickly  come  to  agreement  upon  the  problems  of  com- 
mercial education  where  conditions  are  more  complex  and 
practice  more  varied,  but  we  shall  make  some  important 
discoveries  which  will  be  of  immediate  profit  to  commercial 
education.  The  relation  of  cooperative  effort  will  be  of 
value  both  to  business  and  to  the  school;  if  nothing  else 
came  of  it  than  a  spirit  of  friendliness  and  understanding, 
the  result  would  amply  repay  all  the  effort.     But  far  more 

*  Commercial  education  should  not  remain  uncritical  of  those  business 
demands  which  are  incompatible  with  the  higher  aims  of  education.  While 
the  counsel  is  given  that  pupils  should  be  trained  for  a  real  world,  the  school 
should  select  for  models  of  business  ethics  those  t)^es,  increasingly  nimierous 
in  actual  business,  which  are  sound  and  defensible  by  accepted  moral  stand- 
ards. Indeed,  commercial  education  may  contribute  its  share  in  bettering 
the  general  ethical  standards  of  business.  Inspired  by  the  example  of  the 
best  business  practices,  the  trained  recruits  from  commercial  schools  may  well 
prove  to  be  a  leaven  in  the  movement  for  better  ethical  standards  in  business. 


School  Organization  and  Teachers  31 

than  this  is  sure  to  come,  and  with  persistent  study  a  prob- 
lem at  present  seemingly  obscure  will  become  clearer.  Par- 
ticularly is  it  the  duty  of  business  organizations  to  devote 
thought  and  energy  to  the  question  of  improved  commercial 
education.  Practically  no  commercial  community  in  this 
country  today  is  without  a  Chamber  of  Commerce  or  similar 
business  organization.  Few  such  bodies  busy  themselves 
with  questions  of  education.  The  example  of  the  business 
bodies  of  cities  like  New  York,  Boston,  Chicago,  and  Cleve- 
land should  find  more  imitators,  for  we  shall  make  no  wide- 
spread reforms  in  the  means  and  methods  of  commercial 
education  until  the  business  man  assumes  his  full  share  of 
the  burden. 


THE  TEACHING  FORCE  AVAILABLE  FOR  COMMERCIAL 
EDUCATION 

In  considering  the  problem  of  teachers  for  commercial 
schools  it  is  again  apparent  that  strong  business  influences 
are  lacking.  A  commercial  teacher  in  the  common  accepta- 
tion is  an  individual  who  teaches  stenography,  typewriting, 
bookkeeping,  and  penmanship.  As  minor  accomplishments, 
he  may  instruct  in  commercial  arithmetic  and  business  law. 
Commercial  teachers  are  usually  trained  in  private  business 
colleges,  and  few  have  pursued  a  general  education  farther 
than  the  high  school.  Fewer  still  have  had  business  expe- 
rience or  served  what  might  be  likened  to  a  business  appren- 
ticeship. This  situation  is  but  the  natural  working  of  the 
law  of  supply  and  demand  in  the  schools.  Commercial  edu- 
cation has  been  conceived  as  merely  clerical  training  and 
has  demanded  naturally  a  kind  of  teacher  who  could  bring 
the  stock  results.  Cities  like  New  York  and  Boston,  which 
secure  teachers  from  an  examined  and  rated  merit  list,  make 
provision  for  securing  commercial  teachers  practically  as 
noted  above.  In  Boston  there  are  two  eligible  lists  for 
commercial  teachers,  one  for  college  graduates  and  one  for 
non-college  graduates;    but  the  technical  requirements  are 


32  Commercial  Education 

quite  similar,  and  as  usual  the  principal  subjects  of  exami- 
nation are  clerical.  A  similar  condition  holds  in  New  York 
City.  Quite  recently  Boston  has  established  a  new  eligible 
list  for  teachers  of  salesmanship;  the  requirements  estab- 
lished are  designed  to  secure  practical  business  training  and 
experience. 

What  is  needed  to  improve  the  quality  of  teachers  of  com- 
mercial subjects  is  to  secure  candidates  from  two  other 
important  sources;  viz.,  from  business  life  and  from 
higher  schools  of  commerce.  New  York  City  credits  busi- 
ness experience  in  lieu  of  a  part  of  the  required  teaching 
experience,  which  is  a  recognition  of  a  sound  principle.  The 
failure  of  the  schools  to  see  the  possibilities  of  securing 
teachers  from  higher  schools  of  commerce  is  a  loss  to  the 
cause  of  commercial  education.  During  the  past  decade 
there  has  been  a  pronounced  development  of  higher  com- 
mercial education  in  our  universities  and  colleges.  An  in- 
quiry sent  to  twenty  of  the  more  important  higher  schools 
of  commerce  shows  that  these  institutions  are  doing  little 
in  the  way  of  training  commercial  teachers  for  secondary 
schools.  The  reason  is  obvious.  The  higher  schools  of 
commerce  are  training  for  the  more  important  functions 
of  business,  and  the  secondary  schools  are  occupied  only  in 
training  for  the  minor  occupations  of  business.  The  sec- 
ondary school  creates  no  demand  for  the  product  of  the 
higher  school,  and  there  is  consequently  no  market. 

As  instances  in  point  of  the  above  situation  may  be 
quoted  extracts  received  from  the  inquiry  just  mentioned. 
Professor  Edward  O.  Jones  of  the  University  of  Michigan 
writes  as  follows :  "  We  have  had  an  increasing  number  of 
calls  in  the  last  two  or  three  years  for  men  to  take  teaching 
positions  in  university  extension  work,  and  in  high  schools  in 
large  cities.  The  difficulty  with  high  school  positions  is  that 
so  much  emphasis  is  placed  upon  stenography  and  type- 
writing. We  do  not  teach  those  subjects  and  we  do  not  en- 
courage college  men  to  fit  themselves  to  teach  such  subjects." 
Professor  H.  S.  Person,  director  of  the  Amos  Tuck  School 


School  Organization  and  Teachers  33 

of  Administration  and  Finance,  Dartmouth  College,  says: 
"  It  may  interest  you  to  know  that  although  we  receive 
many  inquiries  for  teachers  and  are  able  to  recommend  sev- 
eral of  each  year's  class  as  particularly  qualified  for  such 
service,  we  are  rarely  able  to  induce  our  students  to  take  up 
teaching.  All  wish  to  go  into  active  business."  Professor 
William  A.  Scott,  director  of  the  Course  in  Commerce,  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin,  bears  the  following  testimony :  "  As 
a  result  of  the  very  small  demand  which  we  have  had  for 
special  training  for  the  teaching  profession,  we  have  not  been 
able  to  develop  that  branch  of  our  work  as  much  as  we 
should  like,  or  as  much  as  we  could  and  would,  provided 
there  was  a  demand  for  it.  I  write  you  thus  frankly  be- 
cause I  fully  appreciate  the  gravity  of  the  problem,  and 
want  you  to  understand  that  we  are  ready  and  willing  to 
do  our  part  toward  its  solution."  L.  F.  Schaub  of  the  Grad- 
uate School  of  Business  Administration,  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, says :  "  As  a  by-product  of  our  School  it  is  of  course 
natural  that  occasionally  we  shall  turn  out  a  young  man  who 
wishes  to  take  up  teaching  as  a  career.  We  have  thus  far 
made  no  special  effort  to  attract  such  men.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  in  our  five  years'  experience  but  two  of  our  students 
have  accepted  positions  as  teachers,  and  in  both  cases  the 
men  were  considerably  older  than  the  average  of  our  stu- 
dents and  had  been  teaching  before  coming  to  this  school." 
On  the  other  hand,  it  should  be  stated  that  the  higher 
schools  of  commerce  frequently  state  their  willingness  to 
undertake  the  preparation  of  commercial  teachers,  should 
there  arise  a  demand.  Professor  Edward  O.  Jones  of  the 
University  of  Michigan  says  in  this  connection :  "  We  are 
willing  to  encourage  our  men  to  become  candidates  for  posi- 
tions as  principals  of  commercial  high  schools,  and  for  other 
of  the  higher  administrative  positions  in  connection  with 
that  line  of  work.  Their  peculiar  qualification  is  that  when 
the  public  demands  something  higher  of  the  commercial 
course  than  the  preparation  of  clerical  help,  these  men  will 
know  how  to  organize  courses  on  business  management, 


34  Commercial  Education 

etc."  In  short,  it  is  easily  evident  that  the  present  obstacle 
to  the  employment  of  college-trained  commercial  teachers 
is  the  certainty  that  young  men  so  prepared  will  find  no 
outlet  in  our  public  secondary  schools. 

The  practicability  of  employing  men  and  women  experi- 
enced in  business  affairs  as  teachers  in  our  public  schools 
may  perhaps  be  a  matter  of  some  doubt.  Few  school  men 
would  look  with  favor  upon  the  innovation.  And  yet, 
in  the  field  of  clerical  commercial  education,  successful 
teachers  have  come  from  the  counting  room.  Industrial 
education  has  not  been  afraid  to  call  into  the  classroom  suc- 
cessful foremen  from  the  bench.  The  general  requirement 
in  state-aided  industrial  schools  in  Massachusetts  is  that 
teachers  shall  have  had  at  least  five  years'  experience  in 
the  industries  for  which  preparatory  education  is  designed. 
In  the  college  schools  of  commerce,  business  men  are  play- 
ing an  important  role  as  incidental  lecturers  and  instructors, 
usually  in  special  phases  of  business  administration.  There 
arises  at  once  the  difficulty  of  offering  to  business  men  a 
recompense  sufficient  to  attract  them  to  the  schoolroom. 
But  this  same  difficulty  has  not  been  found  insuperable  in 
our  higher  technical  schools,  where  men  of  good  talents, 
capable  of  commanding  good  salaries  as  expert  engineers, 
have  the  temperament  or,  more  likely  still,  the  altruistic 
incentive  which  prompts  them  to  serve  as  teachers  with  less 
financial  reward  and  greater  personal  satisfaction. 

We  should  not  possess  successful  law  and  medical 
schools  unless  there  were  to  be  found  men  of  similar  stamp 
and  inclination.  It  would  seem  that  the  business  man  should 
be  sought  to  furnish  in  some  degree  instruction  in  business 
principles.^  No  type  of  education  which  has  successfully 
fitted  for  a  vocation  has  been  able  to  do  so  unaided  by  the 
persons  actually  engaged  in  the  vocation,  and  commercial 

1  It  is  recognized  that  a  man  of  good  business  training  alone  is  not  neces- 
sarily a  good  teacher  of  business.  Particularly  in  our  secondary  schools  is  it 
desirable  that  teachers  possessing  technical  knowledge  should  add  thereto 
professional  training  in  the  art  of  teaching.     Desirable  qualifications  of  an 


School  Organization  and  Teachers  35 

education  will  take  a  progressive  step  by  recognizing  this 
fact.  The  problem  of  securing  efficient  teachers  is  pressing 
throughout  the  range  of  our  whole  vocational  education 
program.  Commercial  education  with  its  longer  existence 
is  not  confronted  with  such  an  imperative  need  as  is  indus- 
trial education,  but  it  might  well  take  example  from  the 
procedure  of  industrial  education  by  showing  a  spirit  of 
readiness  to  go  outside  the  academic  pale  for  teachers  who 
have  had  the  advantage  of  real  contact  with  vocational 
conditions. 

adequate  equipment  for  a  commercial  teacher  in  a  secondary  school  might 
well  be  stated  as  follows:  (a)  a  course  of  training  in  a  university  school  of 
commerce  supplemented  by  actual  business  experience,  and  (b)  a  course  of 
training  in  a  university  school  of  education  supplemented  by  actual  teaching 
exj>erience.  As  is  true  in  industrial  education,  many  effective  teachers  may  be 
drawn  from  the  field  of  actual  practice,  but  to  be  most  effective  the  teacher 
with  technical  knowledge  must  acquire  skill  in  the  art  of  teaching. 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    GENERAL    HIGH    SCHOOL    AND    COM- 
MERCIAL   EDUCATION 

THE  Census  of  1910  lists  over  five  hundred  cities  and 
towns  in  the  United  States  with  a  population  of  ten 
thousand  or  over.  Comparatively  few  of  these  communities 
are  sufficiently  large  or  are  financially  competent  to  support 
more  than  one  high  school.  It  is  evident  that  the  general 
high  school  will  be  the  usual  type  of  institution  which  must 
serve  the  vocational  as  well  as  the  academic  needs  of  most 
communities.  This  fact  is  well  brought  out  in  the  argu- 
ment of  Mr.  Bryan.^  To  improve  commercial  courses  and 
other  specialized  courses,  we  must  see  that  the  parent  insti- 
tution, the  general  high  school,  offers  the  essential  condi- 
tions for  effective  achievement.  It  is  manifestly  impossible 
for  commercial  courses  to  prove  efficient  without  reasonable 
freedom  of  procedure  and  active  encouragement. 

THE  READJUSTMENT  OF  THE  GENERAL  HIGH  SCHOOL 

Serious  doubt  about  the  efficiency  of  the  general  high 
school  is  prevalent,  and  with  reason.  The  general  high 
school  as  we  have  known  it  in  the  past  will  not,  without 
modification,  prove  to  be  an  institution  fitted  to  meet  mod- 
ern vocational  needs.  "  The  high  school  has  meandered 
along  somewhat  aimlessly  in  academic  paths  and  has  been 
strangely  unmindful  of  the  interesting  and  urgent  work 
waiting  to  be  done."  ^    The  assumption  upon  which  the  com- 

1  See  page  23. 

2  Charles  Hughes  Johnston,  The  High  School.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons, 
1913- 

36 


General  High  School  37 

munity  or  general  high  school  has  proceeded  has  been  and 
is  today  in  a  considerable  degree  that  general  training  is 
sufficient  for  the  life  and  vocational  purposes  of  all  pupils. 
We  are  coming  to  see,  however,  that  efficient  training  for 
life  tasks  cannot  be  based  upon  general  training  alone,  be- 
cause life  tasks  more  and  more  are  specific  and  must  be 
prepared  for  specifically.  Specialized  training  as  a  school 
principle  is  more  economic  than  educational.  Those  nations 
first  comprehending  the  principle  have  forced  the  issue  upon 
their  schools.  Economic  conditions  which  have  influenced 
the  schools  elsewhere  are  more  than  national;  they  are 
world-wide.  Educators  as  well  as  economists  must  feel 
the  force  of  the  statement,  "  the  era  of  exclusiveness  is 
past."  If  we,  in  this  country,  are  to  achieve  economic  sur- 
vival and  supremacy,  our  school  systems  must  make  a  large 
contribution.  Margins  between  success  or  failure  today  are 
small.  Integration  of  all  the  forces  which  can  make  a 
nation  great  is  necessary.  Business,  government,  and  edu- 
cation must  unite ;  if  not,  then  by  the  loss  of  the  single  force 
we  shall  be  beaten.  Today  the  nation  looks  to  education  as 
the  ally  by  means  of  which  our  national  survival  and  suprem- 
acy shall  be  realized. 

It  is  agreed  that  the  general  type  of  high  school  will  be 
called  upon  for  large  service  in  this  new  order.  The  pres- 
ent teaching  corps  in  the  present  buildings  must  bear  the 
immediate  burden.  The  people  who  support  the  schools 
demand  it  and  they  will  be  too  insistent  for  denial.  The 
law  of  competition  will  force  it.  At  the  present  moment 
the  schools  feel  a  new  pressure,  this  time  not  the  pedagogi- 
cal pressure  of  educational  theorists,  but  the  economic  pres- 
sure which  comes  from  the  very  wellsprings  of  society,  the 
struggle  for  survival  and  supremacy  of  nations,  states,  and 
communities.  There  is  no  going  back;  we  schoolmasters 
may  sigh  for  the  peaceful  ways  of  the  past,  but  our  day 
has  fallen  in  the  strenuous  period  of  the  present.  If  we 
would  serve  society,  we  must  measure  up  to  the  new  stand- 
ard.   Whichever  community  most  completely  comprehends 


38  Commercial  Education 

the  new  order  and  perceives  the  course  ahead  will  be  the 
torchbearer  for  other  communities  pressing  keenly  onward 
so  as  not  to  be  laggards  in  the  race. 

Not  only  commercial  education  but  industrial  and  pro- 
fessional education  are  concerned  in  the  making  over  of 
our  general  high  schools,  which  must  now  meet  more  effec- 
tively the  varied  educational  needs  of  our  increasingly  com- 
plex social  structure.  A  fundamental  lack  in  our  general 
high  school  is  the  failure  to  supply  to  the  boys  and  girls  an 
adequate  motive.  The  general,  academic,  or  abstract  cul- 
tural motive  has  proved  ineffective ;  we  have  failed  not  only 
to  meet  industrial  needs,  but  have  failed  to  interest  and 
hold  our  boys  and  girls. 

In  the  present  order  of  society,  the  career  motive  is  bound 
to  be  a  dominant  incentive  to  boys  and  girls  in  high  schools. 
Our  new  environment  compels  this  situation.  The  influ- 
ence of  the  press,  the  hum  of  the  streets,  the  multiplication 
of  inventions,  the  increase  of  machinery,  the  stir  and  bustle 
of  life  in  the  city  and  in  the  country,  all  serve  to  turn  the 
thoughts  of  our  boys  and  girls  toward  the  practical  activi- 
ties which  are  the  genius  of  our  age.  The  academic  quiet- 
ness of  school  halls  cannot  and  should  not  resist  these  influ- 
ences. We  live  in  a  practical  age ;  there  is  so  much  work  to 
do  in  the  world,  and  our  boys  and  girls  must  soon  join  the 
ranks  of  active  workers ;  they  are  eager  to  take  their  places, 
which  is  the  chief  reason  why  they  leave  school  so  early. 
Every  investigation  into  the  causes  for  leaving  school  shows 
that  not  necessity,  but  desire,  has  been  the  impelling  motive. 
Our  pupils  will  stay  more  willingly  if  they  realize  that  they 
are  being  better  prepared  for  future  vocational  needs,  that 
their  chances  for  efficient  participation  and  better  rewards 
in  life  tasks  are  increased.  The  boy  willingly  practises  for 
the  actual  games  because  he  appreciates  that  he  cannot  win 
without  practice.  But  the  practice  is  like  the  game,  and  the 
boy  can  see  the  connection  at  all  times ;  so  the  school  should 
have  considerable  similarity  to  industrial  society,  with  the 
connection  constantly  apparent.     Why  then  should  we  not 


General  High  School  39 

adopt  the  career  motive  as  the  vital  incentive  around  which 
to  build  our  courses  in  general  high  schools  ? 

The  general  high  school  ought,  then,  to  readjust  itself 
in  the  light  of  the  natural  aspirations  of  youth  as  well  as  by- 
reason  of  economic  need  and  pressure  of  modem  environ- 
ment. The  career  motive  may  well  furnish  the  basis  for 
the  reorganization  of  our  high  schools  as  well  as  for  the  dis- 
posal of  their  educational  resources  and  the  particular  ar- 
rangement of  studies.  Not  only  greater  interest  on  the  part 
of  pupils,  but  achievements  in  practical  vocational  educa- 
tion, may  well  be  expected  from  our  recommended  proce- 
dure. Though  not  fully  recognized,  the  career  motive  has 
been  potent  in  our  high  schools,  but  the  careers  for  which 
the  school  has  prepared  have  been  too  few  and  restricted. 
The  boy  who  wishes  to  go  to  college  has  an  impelling  career 
motive  in  his  high  school  work.  The  number  of  pupils  in 
high  school  who  pursue  courses  for  the  sake  of  knowledge 
alone  is  not  definitely  determinable,  but  the  usual  impres- 
sion of  high  school  teachers  is  that  this  number  is  compara- 
tively small.  ^ 

The  elective  system  was  intended  to  be  a  motivating  prin- 
ciple as  well  as  a  means  of  meeting  individual  needs;  but 
this  system  was  based  too  much  upon  an  exaltation  of  the 
individuality  of  the  student,  and  not  enough  upon  the  de- 
mands of  society.  It  was  defective  in  that  it  was  too  sub- 
jective, too  little  objective.  It  sent  the  boy  out  with  an 
exaggerated  notion  of  the  ego  and  a  false  idea  of  social  sub- 
ordination ;  for  society  in  the  main  will  not  fit  the  boy ;  the 
boy  must  fit  society.  The  elective  system  gave  no  adequate 
notion  of  community  values,  took  little  heed  of  social  needs, 
disregarded  the  economic  laws  of  supply  and  demand  apply- 
ing to  employment,  and  in  the  case  of  the  unadapted  in- 
dividual led  him  to  think  that  society  was  wrong  and  he 
was  right.     Furthermore,  it  is  evident  from  the  figures  of 

*  For  those  who  persist  in  high  school  the  general  educational  motive  is 
by  no  means  unconmion.  For  the  larger  number  of  those  who  fail  to  persist 
the  present  motives  of  high  school  subjects  have  probably  proved  inadequate. 


40  Commercial  Education 

elimination  from  high  school  that  the  elective  system  has 
failed  to  furnish  an  impelling  motive  for  achievement  and 
for  persistence  in  school. 

The  new  high  school  order  will  either  reject  the  elective 
system  or  will  profoundly  modify  it.  The  boy  may  elect, 
under  guidance,  what  curriculum  will  best  fit  him  for  a 
vocational  career;  but,  having  selected,  he  will  submit  to 
all  the  requirements  which  his  choice  entails.  With  a  goal 
in  view  he  can  better  grapple  with  the  difficulties  involved 
and  more  cheerfully  labor  over  the  weary  stretches,  for  in 
such  a  way  is  success  in  life  achieved ;  the  boy  with  a  strong 
motive  will  not  quail  when  his  courage  is  challenged  by 
obstacles.  Biography  is  filled  with  the  story  of  grim 
struggle,  of  disheartening  checks,  of  ceaseless  industry,  and 
of  final  triumph.  The  boy  will  not  so  soon  quit  when  he 
sees  that  the  school  is  a  real  practice  ground  for  actual  life 
careers.  The  elective  system  offered  as  motives  the  pleasure 
and  satisfaction  to  be  found  in  the  pursuit  of  selected  sub- 
jects, motives  which  appeal  to  those  who  love  knowledge 
for  the  sake  of  knowledge;  \^J  ,  ,'  not  provide  experience 
of  the  kind  which  furnishes  training  for  the  difficulties  or 
demands  to  be  expected  in  life  careers. 

We  have  approached  the  subject  of  the  reorganization 
of  the  "  complete "  high  school  with  observations  some- 
what general  in  nature.  Specific  suggestions  looking 
toward  the  improvement  of  present  conditions  should  logi- 
cally be  forthcoming.  In  attempting  to  meet  this  expecta- 
tion, the  subject  of  commercial  education  will  be  treated  in 
relation  to  the  other  courses  usually  maintained  in  the  gen- 
eral high  school;  naturally  commercial  courses  will  receive 
the  greatest  emphasis  in  the  statement  of  specific  details. 

The  content  and  scope  of  many  subjects  found  at  present 
in  the  program  of  studies  of  general  high  schools  can  be 
used  as  the  basis  for  immediate  procedure.  The  readjust- 
ment necessary  will  take  place  chiefly  in  a  reorganization  of 
material  with  appropriate  expansions  to  meet  specific  needs 
and  with  desirable  contractions  where  present  emphasis  is 


General  High  School  41 

unimportant.  In  the  organization  of  the  school,  the  matter 
of  chief  importance  is  a  definite  division  of  the  program  of 
study  into  separate  groups;  in  other  words,  the  general 
high  school  should  become  a  school  of  schools,  somewhat 
after  the  fashion  of  a  university,  which  is  frequently  a  con- 
federation of  a  number  of  schools,  each  with  a  special  func- 
tion. A  general  high  school  attended  by  boys  and  girls 
lends  itself  easily  to  a  division  like  the  following : 

1.  A  sub-school  of  college  preparation  (in  those 
sections  of  the  country  where  colleges  still  insist  upon 
a  preparation  of  their  own  selection). 

2.  A  sub-school  of  technical  and  industrial  training 
for  boys. 

3.  A  sub-school  of  practical  and  household  arts  for 
girls. 

4.  Sub-schools  of  commercial  training,  preferably 
distinct  for  boys  and  girls. 

Whenever  the  size  of  One  school  permits,  the  sub-school 
should  be  allowed  and  encdwi'aged  to  concentrate  upon  the 
appropriate  function  assigned.  The  subjects  in  each  pro- 
gram of  study,  while  often  designated  by  the  same  name, 
such  as  English,  mathematics,  foreign  languages,  should  be 
taught  from  the  special  points  of  view ;  or,  more  familiarly 
stated,  the  English,  mathematics,  and  foreign  languages 
should  be  the  kind  most  useful  and  fitting  to  the  specific  end 
sought.  In  this  way  the  career  motive  will  be  a  continuous 
incentive.  The  career  motive  will  lose  force  unless  the 
student  experiences  continuously  the  influence  of  the  prin- 
ciple. Manual  training  high  schools  with  one  branch  of  the 
work  academic,  in  the  sense  of  lacking  connection  with 
the  immediate  purpose  of  the  course,  and  the  other  branch 
technical,  appealing  to  the  vocational  interest,  have  not  as 
a  class  overshadowed  the  undifferentiated  high  school  with 
no  pretense  of  furnishing  incentives  other  than  those  of 
a  general  nature.     With  one  element  of  the  course  voca- 


42  Commercial  Education 

tional  and  the  other  disassociated  and  "  academic,"  there 
may  naturally  result  a  conflict  of  forces  with  a  consequent 
loss  of  effectiveness. 

To  the  general  high  school  adopting  this  plan,  the  difficul- 
ties are  not  appalling.  For  each  sub-school  created  there 
are  now  good  models  in  the  special  schools  in  our  large 
cities,  and  the  sub-schools  of  the  general  high  school  can  be 
reproduced  in  miniature  upon  the  special  school  model. 
Most  of  our  high  school  teachers  are  adaptable  and  can 
teach  their  subjects  from  the  new  point  of  view;  few  of 
them  will  be  willing  to  admit  that  they  are  unable  to  re- 
adjust themselves  to  new  conditions.  It  will  be  found  that 
personal  preference  will  lead  some  teachers  to  go  into  one 
division  and  some  into  others;  those  teachers  who  prove 
hostile  to  the  whole  idea  might  be  assigned  to  the  college 
division,  where  they  will  probably  prove  useful  as  conserva- 
tors of  the  old  regime. 

The  larger  the  school,  the  easier  of  application  will  be 
this  plan.  Much  of  the  present  standard  equipment  may  be 
utilized;  the  manual  training  equipment  may  be  enlarged 
to  furnish  opportunity  for  technical  and  industrial  opera- 
tions. Our  present  physical  and  chemical  laboratories  may 
be  expanded  to  furnish  facilities  for  vocational  work.  The 
teaching  force  will  usually  need  to  be  enlarged  to  the  extent 
of  employing  experts  as  heads  (subject  to  the  principal) 
of  the  new  sub-schools.  A  small  school  will  be  obliged  to 
combine  departments  with  as  much  segregation  as  is  eco- 
nomically possible.  A  small  country  high  school  might 
profitably  maintain  but  two  departments,  one  for  agricul- 
tural training  and  the  other  section  for  that  particular  op- 
portunity which  is  most  needed  by  the  community.  Sum- 
marized briefly,  the  success  of  a  high  school  adopting  this 
procedure  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  modification  effected 
in  the  usual  general  scheme  of  organization.  Better  still 
will  be  the  results  if  the  complete  substitution  of  the  plan 
recommended  can  be  carried  out  —  the  plan  whereby  the 
school  offers  a  number  of  different  courses,  each  with  spe- 


General  High  School  43 

cific  aims;  with  such  an  opportunity  the  student  will  find 
not  only  encouragement  for  a  career  motive,  but  the  condi- 
tions for  effective  vocational  achievements. 


EFFECT    OF    VOCATIONAL    INSTRUCTION    ON    THE    CULTURAL 
VALUE   OF   SECONDARY    SCHOOL    WORK 

Will  not  the  expansion  of  the  idea  of  vocation  bring  a 
consequent  loss  of  culture  in  the  general  influence  of  the 
school  ?  Those  who  raise  this  query  deserve  commendation 
for  their  concern  for  the  high  purposes  which  the  school 
has  cherished.  Culture  is  hard  to  define  and  seemingly  in- 
consistent in  its  exhibitions.  From  instances  that  might 
be  adduced,  culture  appears  to  be  more  the  result  of  for- 
tuitous circumstances  than  the  definite  product  of  school 
training.  We  might  point  out  the  example  of  the  illiterate 
Italian  boy  who  hums  operatic  airs  and  stands  entranced 
before  a  beautiful  painting,  and  then  to  the  instance  of  the 
American  college  youth  who  shouts  rag-time  and  besmears 
with  paint  the  college  statuary  intended  to  edify. 

We  may  be  skeptical  that  culture  in  a  definite  degree  is 
the  certain  product  of  formal  educational  influence.  It  is 
true  and  praiseworthy  that  the  effort  of  the  school  has  been 
to  arouse  appreciation  for  culture,  moral  and  aesthetic.  To 
assume  that  the  formal  school  courses  of  general  or  classical 
schools  are  the  best  or  only  means  of  imparting  what  is 
called  culture,  is  probably  untenable.  The  concrete-minded 
pupil  —  and  he  is  in  the  majority  —  who  fails  to  find  an 
adequate  motive  in  general  high  school  subjects,  will  prob- 
ably resist  the  intended  accompanying  culture.  If  he  drops 
out  of  school,  as  he  so  frequently  does,  he  obviously  fails 
to  get  either  the  abstract  training  or  the  still  more  abstract 
culture.  The  boy  will  probably  get  his  culture  the  way  he 
gets  any  educational  product,  i.e.,  abstractly,  if  he  can 
assimilate  by  abstract  processes;  concretely,  if  his  mind 
responds  to  concrete  stimuli. 

The  vocational  school  is  not  at  a  disadvantage  in  the 


44  Commercial  Education 

laudable  competition  of  trying  to  lead  youth  to  see  the 
beauty  behind  the  fact.  Moral  culture  we  know  is  not  a 
matter  of  clean  hands,  but  of  clean  hearts.  ^Esthetic  culture 
is  not  a  matter  of  fine  clothes,  but  of  fine  feeling.  Poverty, 
in  fact,  seems  to  have  been  the  constant  condition  of  the 
great  masters  of  art,  music,  and  conduct,  who  have  left  us 
immortal  mementoes  of  their  visions.  Culture  is  deeper 
than  external  appearance.  Clothes  give  us  respectability, 
but  not  culture.  The  formal  study  of  art  and  literature  in 
school  has  often  ended  in  distaste  and  a  desire  to  turn  away 
from  the  intended  applications.  There  is  still  little  relation 
between  commonly  accepted  educational  theory  and  actual 
school  practice.  Assent  is  given  to  the  abstract  proposition 
of  the  psychologist  that  individual  minds  act  in  different 
and  peculiar  ways,  but  our  school  methods  continue  to  ex- 
hibit an  adherence  to  uniform  methods  of  procedure.  We 
are  beginning  to  readapt  our  methods  of  teaching  arith- 
metic by  varying  our  practices  to  fit  individual  needs,  but 
we  do  not  abandon  our  uniform  methods  in  seeking  to  im- 
part culture. 

The  vocational  school  has  a  duty  toward  culture  which 
is  recognized  by  the  sponsors  of  vocational  education. 
While  vocational  education  deals  primarily  with  concrete 
problems,  not  on  that  account  must  it  be  inferred  that 
beauty,  truth,  and  virtue  will  fail  to  gain  recognition.  Mr. 
Kerchensteiner,^  the  apostle  of  vocational  education  in 
Bavaria,  emphasizes  above  all  else  the  cultural  possibilities 
of  vocational  training.  If  it  be  that  the  concrete-minded 
pupil  will  get  his  culture  concretely,  and  in  that  way  only, 
then  the  opportunity  of  vocational  education  for  imparting 
practical  culture  is  greater  than  that  of  general  education, 
and  the  burden  of  obtaining  greater  results  will  be  a  natural 
consequence. 

Returning  to  the  consideration  of  plans  of  high  school 
organization,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  in  a  thickly  settled 

1  Education  for  Citizenship.    Rand,  McNally  Company. 


General  High  School  45 

state,  where  small  cities  with  good  transportation  facilities 
are  closely  grouped,  differentiated  high  schools  may  be  es- 
tablished by  cooperative  effort.  One  town  may  maintain 
the  commercial  high  school  for  the  group  of  towns,  another 
community  the  industrial,  and  still  another  the  college  pre- 
paratory course.  By  this  simple  arrangement  smaller  com- 
munities fortunately  located  may  enjoy  all  the  educational 
advantages  which  the  large  city  offers,  and  with  little  or  no 
additional  cost.  The  adoption  of  this  plan,  in  fact,  is  seri- 
ously contemplated  in  a  group  of  adjoining  towns  in  Massa- 
chusetts. Where  there  are  several  undifferentiated  high 
schools  in  the  same  city,  reorganization  may  be  effected  in 
much  the  same  way.  This  will  occasion  a  regrouping  of 
teachers  and  a  transfer  of  equipment  and  material.  Practi- 
cal difficulties  are  easily  apparent,  and  naturally  these  will 
often  prejudice  teachers  against  a  scheme  that  disturbs 
conditions  with  which  they  are  familiar  and  to  which  they 
are  attached.  The  objections  are  not  those  of  efficiency  and 
economy  but  more  particularly  those  of  sentiment.  Indeed, 
these  objections  may  prove  so  potent  that  the  reorganization 
will  be  effected  within  the  different  schools  in  the  manner 
indicated  for  communities  possessing  but  one  high  school. 
In  our  large  cities  the  special  high  school  has  come  with  the 
growth  of  the  city  and  the  larger  percentage  of  pupils  enter- 
ing high  school.  The  new  schools  are  more  often  the 
special  schools,  while  the  general  high  school  is  not  in  many 
sections  being  reproduced  to  meet  the  increased  demand 
for  accommodations. 


THE  NEW  STANDARDS  OF  EFFICIENCY  FOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

Whatever  may  be  the  specific  plan  locally  adopted,  we 
must  prepare  to  tolerate  the  prospect  of  reorganization.  The 
rapid  growth  of  industrial  education  shows  how  serious  and 
determined  an  aroused  public  may  become.  The  advocates 
of  vocational  education  have  occupied  this  impregnable 
position:    how  can  we  continue  to  furnish  a  type  of  edu- 


46  Commercial  Education 

cation  which  is  prevocational  to  the  liberal  professions,  and 
refuse  to  make  provision  for  the  needs  of  the  far  larger 
class  who  go  into  industry  and  trade?  A  numerical  sum- 
mary of  the  present  situation  in  our  high  schools  shows  that 
we  are  offering  an  appropriate  secondary  education  for  the 
two  millions  of  people  who  serve  us  in  professional  capaci- 
ties, and  have  given  no  heed  to  the  educational  needs  of 
the  thirty  millions  who  serve  us  in  trade,  agriculture,  and 
industry.  The  new  conception  of  democracy  applied  to 
education  holds  that  a  free  public  school  system  shall  fur- 
nish equal  opportunity,  through  specific  training,  to  each 
individual,  to  make  the  most  of  his  best  chance  in  life.  The 
awakened  political  and  social  conscience  of  our  country  will 
not  rest  content  with  legislative  and  industrial  reforms 
alone;  the  schools  as  well  must  give  evidence  of  an  en- 
larged vision  and  greater  usefulness. 

The  connection  of  the  problem  of  improved  commercial 
education  with  the  larger  problem  of  increased  scope  and 
efficiency  of  the  public  school  system  is  of  course  apparent. 
Commercial  education  and  manual  training  were  the  first 
instances  of  the  assent  of  the  school  to  the  demand  that  the 
high  school  should  include  preparation  for  non-professional 
occupations.  We  have  before  indicated  that  neither  of  these 
subjects  was  added  as  a  result  of  an  adequate  concep- 
tion of  the  nature  of  vocational  education;  that  both  of 
these  subjects  have  been  consistently  conventionalized  into 
academic  high  school  subjects.^  The  demand  for  improved 
industrial  training  promises  to  be  met  to  a  considerable 
degree  by  the  creation  of  a  new  system  of  schools,  often 
conducted  under  separate  auspices  and  receiving  special 
supervision  and  subsidy  by  the  state.  Improved  commer- 
cial education,  however,  promises  to  come  in  the  schools 
already  established;  our  investment  has  been  made,  our 
connections  have  been  laid  and  valuable  achievements  ef- 
fected.   We  shall  not,  however,  meet  the  new  standards  of 

1  See  page  134. 


General  High  School  47 

efficiency  or  of  democracy  without  readjustment.  We  must 
make  commercial  education  truly  vocational;  whatever 
principles,  methods,  or  devices  prove  efficient  in  other  kinds 
of  vocational  education  must  be  adopted  outright  or  else 
adapted  to  fit  the  special  needs;  whatever  procedure  is  in- 
dicated by  a  study  of  business  conditions  must  likewise 
be  incorporated.  Above  all  else,  such  specialized  func- 
tions of  education  as  commercial  training  must  have  en- 
couragement and  freedom.  The  general  high  school  may 
be  likened  to  a  household  which  is  called  upon  to  readjust 
its  habits  for  the  more  efficient  life  of  its  separate  mem- 
bers, most  of  whom  are  now  called  upon  to  forsake  their 
hitherto  ornamental  existences  for  careers  of  economic 
usefulness. 

The  new  high  school  will  be  able  to  test  its  usefulness 
by  truer  standards  of  efficiency.  The  only  definite  standards 
in  the  past  have  been  college  entrance  requirements.  These 
we  recognize  are  academic,  institutional,  and  applicable  to 
but  a  small  portion  of  the  mass  of  the  pupils.  As  tests  of 
vocational  worth  they  are  valueless.  The  needed  objective 
standards,  drawn  from  vocational  evaluations,  cannot  now 
be  set  forth  in  the  terms  of  present  college  requirements, 
but  they  can  be  generally  characterized  as  the  standards  of 
social  efficiency,  and  in  general  it  means  that  the  school  shall 
train  farmers,  mechanics,  or  merchants  as  well  as  it  has 
trained  doctors,  lawyers,  and  teachers.  Just  as  we  have 
estimated  school  proficiency  in  the  past  by  observing  how 
well  our  boys  and  girls  pass  college  entrance  examinations, 
so  let  us  watch  the  success  of  our  students  in  commerce  and 
industry.  The  colleges  report  to  us  the  standing  of  our 
graduates;  why  should  not  business  men  and  manufac- 
turers report  how  our  graduates  are  progressing  in  indus- 
try? Why  not  give  the  same  attention  to  industrial  stand- 
ards that  we  have  given  to  college  standards  ?  May  we  not 
match  college  entrance  boards  with  business  men's  advisory 
committees?  We  have  long  tolerated  the  criticism  of  col- 
lege professors :   may  we  not  now  hearken  to  the  observa- 


48  Commercial  Education 

tions  of  the  man  of  affairs?  Should  not  these  two  influ- 
ences be  given  proper  proportion?  Should  the  present  ab- 
surd practice  be  continued,  whereby  the  interests  of  one 
tenth  of  the  pupils  dominate  those  of  the  other  nine  tenths, 
or,  more  appropriately,  in  case  one  must  be  sacrificed,  should 
exactly  the  opposite  practice  be  followed  ? 

At  the  present  time  our  high  schools  draw  comfort  from 
and  take  pride  in  the  achievement  and  success  of  the  small 
number  of  those  highly  selected  individuals  who  persist 
throughout  the  course.  They  have  been  oblivious  of  the 
fate  of  the  fifty  to  ninety  per  cent  of  those  who  fell  by  the 
wayside.  The  enormous  human  waste  product  of  our  high 
schools  has  been  disregarded.  H.  E.  Miles,^  chairman  of 
the  manufacturers'  committee  on  industrial  education  of 
the  National  Educational  Association,  summarizes  the 
case  as  follows :  "  Our  educators  have  been  like  the 
old-time  operators  of  blast  furnaces  who  threw  away  the 
slag  as  bothersome  and  worthless,  not  knowing  that  with 
a  little  care  it  would  some  day  be  made  into  cement  and 
better  the  life  of  the  world.  It  is  a  question,  however,  if 
our  educators  have  not  as  often  thrown  away  the  steel  as 
the  cement." 

The  public  which  the  school  serves  will  demand  a  closer 
reckoning  in  the  future  than  in  the  past.  The  public  will 
wish  to  know  the  fate  of  one  hundred  per  cent  of  the 
pupils,  not  alone  the  good  fortune  of  the  gifted  few.  If 
the  advantages  of  the  school  are  inaccessible  to  the  major- 
ity of  pupils,  then  we  must  indict  the  methods  and  organi- 
zation of  the  school.  If  we  cannot  educate  our  boys  and 
girls  in  accordance  with  the  school  standards  which  we 
schoolmasters  have  set,  we  must  look  for  more  reasonable 
standards.  If  success  in  economic  standards  were  to  be 
obtained  as  infrequently  as  success  in  the  school  standards, 
what  a  multiplication  of  poorhouses  would  be  the  result! 
Every  boy  forced  out  of  school  by  reason  of  failure  in 

*  Bulletin  of  the  National  Educational  Association,  September,  1913. 


General  High  School  49 

school  standards  who  subsequently  becomes  a  useful  citizen, 
a  producer  and  an  economic  unit,  stands  as  a  witness  against 
the  reasonableness  of  school  standards. 

We  shall  be  obliged  to  see  the  educational  problem  in 
a  larger  and  more  generous  light,  wherein  the  needs  of  all 
the  children  are  constantly  in  mind.  We  must  give  up  the 
impossible  task  of  trying  to  force  all  the  children  to  make 
the  traditional  school  achievements,  which  the  school  says 
spell  success;  we  can  always  improve  if  we  do  not  "  com- 
plete." Indeed,  the  effort  to  improve  our  boys  and  girls 
through  educational  influences  rather  than  to  complete  a 
prescribed  scholastic  course  of  our  own  choosing,  promises 
to  become  the  new  educational  ideal.  Improvement  is  a 
possible,  actual,  and  useful  ideal,  while  completion  is  a  lim- 
ited, contingent,  and  indefinite  aspiration.  Commercial 
education  should  do  more  than  train  some  boys  and  girls 
to  take  dictation  at  one  hundred  and  twenty  words  a  minute, 
or  finish  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  instructor  certain  model 
sets  in  bookkeeping.  For  the  thousand  and  one  jobs  in 
commerce,  commercial  education  can  improve  the  majority 
of  boys  and  girls  so  that  they  can  more  effectively  and  more 
profitably  meet  the  conditions  of  employment  and  secure 
greater  life  satisfactions  for  themselves. 

The  present  limited  opportunities  for  "  improvement  edu- 
cation "  in  our  regular  high  schools  are  provided  in  part 
by  the  establishment  of  evening  schools,  and,  more  recently, 
by  the  establishment  of  continuation  schools.  Other  rea- 
sons obviously  are  factors  in  the  establishment  of  these 
schools;  viz.,  economic  inability  of  pupils  to  remain 
longer  in  regular  day  schools,  irresponsibility  of  parents 
and  children,  failure  to  appreciate  in  time  the  value  of  ex- 
tended educational  training. 

An  instance  of  the  recognition  of  the  rights  and  needs  of 
one  hundred  per  cent  of  the  pupils  is  seen  in  a  recent  report 
of  the  board  of  superintendents  of  New  York  City.^     Both 

»  See  also  School  Efficiency,  by  Paul  H.  Hanus,  pages  13-15.  School 
Efladency  Series,  World  Book  Company. 


50  Commercial  Education 

the  argument  and  the  plan  are  contained  in  the  following 
excerpt  from  the  report : 


"  It  seems  desirable  at  the  present  time,  while  adjust- 
ing special  schools  for  the  mentally  backward,  to  give 
adequate  and  fair  treatment  to  those  children  of  aver- 
age mentality  who,  perchance,  are  only  slow,  but  who, 
because  of  their  very  slowness,  become  the  retarded 
children  owing  to  their  inability  to  keep  up  with  the 
present  curriculum.  In  considering  the  problem  of  re- 
adjusting the  curriculum  we  regard  the  present  stopping 
place  where  the  greatest  percentage  of  elimination 
occurs  as  the  natural  point  to  begin  the  development 
of  various  differentiated  courses.  The  distribution  of 
children  among  the  vocations  indicates  definite  need  for 
elasticity  immediately  following  the  elementary  school 
period.  After  due  consideration  of  many  conclusions 
of  weight  related  to  the  recent  discussion  on  the  subject 
of  the  length  of  the  elementary  school  course  in  years, 
the  following  working  principle  was  evolved,  namely: 
the  elementary  school  course  should  be  made  up  of  six 
years  of  universal  or  coordinate  work  and  two  years  of 
flexible  work,  providing  for  such  differentiation  as  is 
needed  to  meet  the  needs  of  individual  children  or 
groups  of  children. 

"  We  believe  also  that  with  the  establishment  of  flex- 
ible, differentiated  courses  of  study  in  the  last  two 
grades,  in  place  of  the  present  inelastic  curriculum, 
there  will  probably  be  an  increase  in  the  gross  number 
of  graduates  from  the  elementary  schools.  As  a  fur- 
ther result,  judging  from  the  experience  of  other  cities, 
the  percentage  of  matriculates  to  the  high  schools  could 
be  raised,  as  well  as  the  absolute  numbers  entering  upon 
secondary  school  work. 

"  The  suggestions  made  above  provide  for  a  course  of 


General  High  School  51 

study  thoughout  the  eight  years.  We  emphasize  the 
need  for  a  definite  course  during  the  first  six  years,  but 
suggest  that,  beginning  with  the  seventh  year,  the  course 
should  separate  into  three  distinct  branches.  We  would 
establish  an  academic  course  leading  to  the  high  school, 
as  at  present;  we  would  also  establish  a  commercial 
course  and  a  vocational  course. 

"  As  a  suggestion  for  the  utilization  of  the  tentative 
flexible  course  for  the  seventh  and  eighth  years,  we 
should  advise  the  extension  of  the  educational  content 
of  the  various  subjects  along  the  line  of  commercial 
training  and  industrial  training.  To  this  end,  we  submit 
a  suggestive  outline  of  the  educational  possibilities  of 
such  differential  courses  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  year. 

Commercial 

Seventh  and  Eighth  Year  Flexible  Courses  —  Arrangement  in  Detail 
and  Method  Optional 

English :  Literature  ;  commercial ;  vocabulary  ;  forms  ;  correspondence ; 
advertising. 

History,  civics,  and  social  life :  History  of  trade  and  transportation,  start 
locally,  and  expand  evolutionally  ;  commercial  law  and  contracts,  insurance, 
liability  laws,  charters,  taxation,  and  franchise  ;  commercial  organization, 
partnerships,  corporations,  mergers,  unions,  collections,  bargaining,  coopera- 
tive stores  ;  division  of  labor ;  occupational  accidents  and  diseases ;  home- 
making,  relation  of  individual  to  home. 

Geography :  Commercial,  economic,  transportation  and  trade  relations. 

Mathematics :  Elementary  bookkeeping ;  accounting,  home,  business, 
manufacturing  ;  per  capitas,  mensuration  ;  arithmetic  —  discount,  bills,  in- 
surance, interest ;  banking  and  foreign  exchange ;  customs ;  elements  of 
algebra. 

Industrial  and  fine  arts:  Bases  of  value  —  quality,  design,  construction; 
method  of  purchase ;  vocabulary ;  conamercial  design ;  domestic  science  and 
art. 

Music :  Incidental  to  education  and  physical  education. 

Writing:  Legibility,  speed;  stenography;  accuracy,  speed;  typewriting, 
accurate  transcription. 

Hygiene:  Personal  —  clothing,  bathing,  exercise  and  recreation,  food,  ex- 
ercise; social  —  ventilation  and  heat,  dust,  light;  individual  utensils,  hours 
of  labor,  rest;  fire  drill;  first  aid. 


52  Commercial  Education 

Nature  study :  Natural  history  of  commodities. 
Business  and  office  practice:  Filing  and  cataloguing. 
Languages:   For  purpose  of  correspondence,  one  required,  one  optional, 
German,  Spanish,  French,  Italian." 

Undoubtedly  the  principle  underlying  the  above  proposi- 
tion is  sound,  and  the  suggestive  plan  itself  worthy  of  con- 
sideration. It  is  highly  important  that  the  specific  plans 
adopted  should  be  thoroughly  tested  by  investigation  and  ex- 
periment. The  teaching  of  stenography  and  typewriting  to 
immature  pupils  is  particularly  of  doubtful  value,  since  these 
subjects  have  a  vocational  value  only  for  pupils  of  much 
greater  maturity,  and  chiefly  for  girls,  as  previously  stated 
(page  8). 

Applying  the  principle  of  improvement  training  to  the 
particular  problem  of  commercial  education  in  secondary 
schools,  it  is  evident  that  much  change  of  attitude  on  the 
part  of  teachers,  of  organization  within  the  school,  and  of 
methods  applied  to  individual  subjects,  will  be  required.  If 
elasticity  is  a  recognized  need  in  the  elementary  school, 
how  much  more  is  it  so  in  the  secondary  institution?  We 
shall  be  obliged  to  institute  a  number  of  new  courses  to 
meet  the  needs  of  the  many  whose  destinies  are  as  sacred 
as  those  of  the  traditional  student  who  remains  four  years 
to  finish  a  prescribed  commercial  course.  Three-year,  two- 
year,  one-year,  and  possibly  half-year  courses  will  naturally 
result.  Two  considerations  will  determine  the  nature  of 
our  various  courses;  viz.,  the  specific  business  demands 
for  which  each  course  gives  preparation,  and  the  circum- 
stances of  the  pupil  respecting  his  financial  competence  to 
remain  in  school,  his  mental  and  physical  fitness  for  the 
work,  and  his  ambition  to  prepare  himself  for  a  specific 
commercial  occupation. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THREE    INVESTIGATIONS    AND    WHAT    THEY 
MEAN    FOR    COMMERCIAL    EDUCATION 

THIS  chapter  presents  the  chief  facts  and  conclusions 
of  three  investigations  conducted  in  and  around  Bos- 
ton during  the  school  year  191 3- 191 4.  These  investi- 
gations were  conducted  by  the  following  organizations 
respectively : 

The  Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union,  Depart- 
ment of  Research :  The  Public  Schools  and  Women  in 
Office  Service} 

The  Boston  Chamber  of  Commerce:  Report  on  Com- 
mercial Education  to  the  Committee  on  Education  {Cham- 
ber of  Commerce)? 

Committee  of  Teachers  (Massachusetts  State  Board  of 
Education)  :  Records  in  Business  of  Graduates  of  Public 
Schools.^ 

THE    women's     educational    AND    INDUSTRIAL    UNION 
INVESTIGATION 

The  report  of  the  Women's  Educational  and  Industrial 
Union  is  exhaustive  in  character,  covering  many  phases 
of  the  manifold  conditions  of  employment  of  women  in 
business  life.  The  Department  of  Research  of  the  Women's 
Educational  and  Industrial  Union  is  well  equipped  to  under- 
take work  of  the  nature  attempted,  and  has  in  fact  made 

1  Published  by  the  Boston  School  Committee,  19 14. 

2  Special  Report,  Boston  Chamber  of  Commerce,  1914. 

^  Published  by  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Education,  1914. 

S3 


54  Commercial  Education 

a  number  of  studies  into  the  occupational  conditions  of 
women. ^  The  present  investigation  extended  through  a 
period  of  one  year,  during  which  time  studies  were  made  in 
the  day  and  evening  schools,  in  employment  agencies,  in 
the  homes  and  in  the  places  of  occupation  of  employed 
women.  The  case  method  was  chiefly  used,  and  the  facts 
were  secured  both  from  written  testimony  of  individuals 
canvassed  and  from  personal  conference  with  them. 

Material  presented  in  this  chapter  from  the  above  report 
is  selected  from  two  chapters,  entitled  respectively,  "  The 
Public  School  and  its  Problems  "  and  "  Summary  and  Out- 
look." While  the  report  itself  discusses  a  great  many  prob- 
lems not  presented  in  this  book,  the  selected  portions  deal 
chiefly  with  those  problems  and  are  intended  to  bring 
additional  evidence  upon  issues  pointed  out  in  the  volume 
itself.  From  the  second  chapter  are  first  selected  facts  and 
studies  regarding  the  persistence  of  commercial  pupils  in 
high  school.^ 

"  The  relative  persistence  of  the  two  types  of  students 
taking  the  academic  and  vocational  courses  has  also 
been  a  subject  of  much  discussion.  This  tendency  is 
verified  by  the  record  of  a  large  class  of  635  girls  enter- 
ing one  of  the  Boston  high  schools  in  1909,  441  (69.5 
per  cent)  of  whom  registered  for  commercial  subjects. 
.  .  .  The  annual  loss  both  in  the  commercial  and  aca- 
demic groups  is  about  one  fourth  during  the  first  year. 
During  the  second  year,  however,  the  loss  was  almost 
twice  as  great  among  the  commercial  (30.7  per  cent) 
as  the  academic  students  (16.5  per  cent),  and  during  the 
third  year  about  one  and  one  half  times.  The  average 
annual  loss  for  the  first  three  years  was  22.1  per  cent 
in  the  commercial  group  and  17.5  per  cent  in  the  aca- 
demic group." 

1  Vocations  for  Women,  and  other  reports. 

2  See  also  Chapter  VI,  page  97. 


Three  Investigations  55 

The  reasons  assigned  for  the  lower  persistence  of  the 
commercial  group  are  stated  as  follows : 

Many  of  the  girls  reach  the  age  of  sixteen  during  the  sec- 
ond year  at  high  school,  and  can  easily  find  positions  not  re- 
quiring particular  skill  or  maturity.  When  these  girls  go 
into  office  service,  they  find  it  hard  to  advance  without  ad- 
ditional training,  for  40.5  per  cent  of  all  girls  found  in 
evening  high  schools  were  engaged  in  some  of  the  branches 
of  office  service,  and  nearly  one  half  of  this  group  had 
begun  work  before  they  were  sixteen. 

Economic  pressure,  as  indicated  by  the  character  of  the 
father's  occupation,  is  assigned  as  another  strong  factor  for 
early  leaving.  Manufacturing  and  domestic  and  personal 
service  are  occupations  of  the  fathers  of  the  commercial  stu- 
dents in  larger  proportions,  while  the  better-paid  callings 
of  the  professions  and  trade  characterize  the  occupations  of 
the  fathers  of  the  academic  group. 

The  comparative  degrees  of  mental  ability  between  the 
commercial  and  academic  groups  was  the  subject  of  some 
study.  ^ 

"  More  than  two  thirds  (69  per  cent)  of  the  total 
academic  group  (342),  as  compared  with  two  fifths 
(42.6  per  cent)  of  the  commercial  students  (576),  re- 
ceived a  medium  grade  of  *  A '  and  *  B  '  in  all  their 
courses.  Since  proficiency  in  English  is  a  requisite  for 
both  the  academic  and  commercial  students,  comparison 
of  their  relative  standing  in  this  common  subject  seemed 
to  be  a  fair  basis  for  consideration;  almost  two  thirds 
(64.3  per  cent)  of  the  academic  students,  again,  and  but 
two  fifths  of  the  commercial  girls  were  ranked  as  *  A ' 
?nd  '  B '  students  in  their  English  courses." 

The  investigator  does  not  believe  that  the  commercial 
pupils  are  necessarily  inferior  to  the  academic  students,  but 

*  Compare  the  New  York  Report,  page  97. 


56  Commercial  Education 

thinks  that  the  interests  and  ambitions  of  the  former  are 
different : 

"  They  may  feel  Httle  interest  in  Chaucer's  poems 
or  in  algebra  and  geometry,  yet  be  most  enthusiastic 
and  efficient  workers  in  the  affairs  of  the  actual  world 
about  them.  In  fact,  the  experience  of  these  girls  after 
leaving  school  proves  their  possibilities;  for  almost 
two  thirds  (62.9  per  cent)  of  the  310  studied  from  the 
schools  were  earning  nine  dollars  or  more,  and  more 
than  one  half  of  these  (54.4  per  cent)  had  been  at  work 
less  than  three  years." 

The  report  presents  valuable  information  concerning  the 
relation  between  the  amount  of  school  training  and  the 
kind  of  commercial  occupation  secured.^ 

"  The  marked  relationship  between  their  schooling 
and  their  occupations  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  37  (out 
of  310),  or  less  than  one  half  of  the  87  girls  who  had 
not  graduated  from  day  high  schools,  were  stenog- 
raphers. Clerks  and  bookkeepers  compose  56.3  per  cent 
of  this  group  who  were  not  high  school  graduates,  show- 
ing a  large  proportion  who  lack  the  technical  training 
necessary  for  stenographic  work.  Four  fifths  (80.2  per 
cent)  of  the  187  stenographers  and  20  of  the  21  secre- 
taries had  graduated  from  high  school,  which  illustrates 
the  higher  degree  of  education  necessary  for  these 
more  responsible  positions." 

"  As  the  amount  of  schooling  affects  the  nature  of  the 
occupation,  so  the  occupation  explains  the  wage.  Sixty 
per  cent  of  the  clerical  workers,  of  whom  one  half  were 
either  high  school  non-graduates  or  else  merely  gram- 
mar school  graduates,  received  less  than  the  nine  dollars 
minimum  wage.    That  nearly  one  half  (43-9  per  cent) 

1  Based  on  data  concerning  women  employed  in  business  as  secretaries, 
stenographers,  bookkeepers,  and  clerical  workers. 


Three  Investigations  57 

of  the  bookkeepers  were  also  earning  less  than  nine 
dollars  is  not  surprising  when  we  discover  that  almost 
as  large  a  proportion  of  the  bookkeepers  as  of  the  cleri- 
cal workers  were  not  high  school  graduates.  Among 
stenographers  and  typists,  however,  80.2  per  cent  of 
whom  were  high  school  graduates,  only  one  third  re- 
ceived less  than  nine  dollars." 

Information  of  importance  concerning  business  demands 
and  the  relation  of  school  training  to  them  appears  in  this 
chapter.  In  the  case  of  office  service,  the  investigator  finds 
that  the  chief  business  needs  are  personality  and  technique. 
Personality  is  fundamental,  as  it  is  the  initial  test  to  which 
the  girl  applying  for  a  position  is  put.  Students  inherently 
lacking  personality  should  be  directed,  through  vocational 
guidance,  to  some  other  occupation.  Technique  is  best  se- 
cured through  part-time  arrangements  with  business  houses. 

"  Vocational  guidance  and  part-time  schooling,  there- 
fore, are  two  important  aids  to  the  efficiency  of  com- 
mercial education,  the  one  dealing  primarily  with  per- 
sonality, the  other  with  technique  and  applied  theory." 

Attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  many  girls  have  latent 
possibilities  in  the  matter  of  personality.  Lack  of  informa- 
tion, failure  of  the  home  to  supply  proper  inspiration,  gen- 
eral unfortunate  environment,  may  retard  promising  girls  in 
attaining  success. 

"  Personal  information  about  the  child's  home  con- 
ditions as  well  as  about  the  neighborhood  would  help 
to  throw  light  on  her  needs.  The  girl's  birthplace,  as 
well  as  that  of  her  father,  in  the  case  of  the  foreign 
born,  is  an  indication  of  her  general  familiarity  with 
our  language  and  customs.  The  father's  occupation 
also  provides  another  valuable  source  of  information, 
which  might  be  systematically  recorded  and  studied,  of 
the  girl's  personal  needs." 


58  Commercial  Education 

Regarding  the  teaching  of  technique,  the  report  gives 
this  counsel  in  addition  to  the  recommendation  for  part- 
time  training: 

"  In  the  specific  training  in  stenography  and  type- 
writing which  has  been  chiefly  emphasized,  the  schools 
seem  to  be  satisfactory.  But  the  constantly  changing 
conditions  caused  by  the  introduction  of  new  oflice  ap- 
pliances must  be  carefully  followed  by  organizers  of 
school  curricula.  For  instance,  the  number  of  book- 
keepers is  diminishing.  Billing  machines,  adding  ma- 
chines, and  typewriters  are  displacing  many  book- 
keepers in  large  offices  by  a  smaller  number  of  machine 
operators." 

The  report  discusses  the  effect  of  the  elective  system  ^  on 
commercial  preparation.  Unless  intelligent  counsel  is  given, 
pupils  often  emerge  with  improper  equipment.  There  is 
likely  to  be  an  over-balance  of  either  technical  work  or 
general  training.  Particularly  is  general  training  liable  to 
be  neglected.  Records  of  successful  women  in  office  posi- 
tions emphasize  the  importance  of  general  training.  For 
many  girls  an  advantageous  course  to  pursue  is  to  complete 
a  general  amount  of  general  training  preliminary  to  special- 
ized work.  Girls  who  have  completed  a  general  high  school 
course  before  taking  specialized  commercial  work  are  shown 
to  be  well  equipped  for  more  responsible  and  remunerative 
positions.  There  is  uniformly  found  a  constant  ratio  be- 
tween the  total  amount  of  schooling  and  subsequent  busi- 
ness success. 

For  making  commercial  work  more  vital  and  compre- 
hensible, the  report  ofTers  the  following  advice : 

"  The  constant  contact  with  the  business  world,  which 
part-time  or  cooperative  schooling  offers,  is  just  what  is 
needed,  therefore,  to  tie  up  the  schools  with  actual  busi- 

1  See  Chapter  HI,  page  40. 


Three  Investigations  59 

ness  demands.  Teachers  with  business  experience  will 
be  absolutely  required,  and  more  careful  training  in 
office  practice  will  inevitably  result.  The  example  of  a 
well-known  business  college  might  well  offer  sugges- 
tions for  adaptations.  This  school  has  a  course  in  office 
practice  which  consists  in  demonstrations  of  right  and 
wrong  office  methods.  The  course  presents  the  office 
force  and  employer  in  typical  situations  which  may  arise, 
from  the  first  application  for  a  position  to  a  sudden 
emergency  where  the  stenographer's  ability  to  anticipate 
her  employer's  wants  saves  a  trying  situation.  Such  a 
course  is  not  practicable  in  most  schools,  but,  at  least,  it 
shows  a  recognition  of  the  need  of  familiarizing  the 
pupils  with  office  conditions.  To  attain  the  same  end, 
the  administrative  work  of  the  head  of  the  commercial 
course  might  be  conducted  in  an  office  fitted  with  all 
office  appliances,  and  the  pupils  might  take  turns  in  hav- 
ing charge  of  this  office  and  acting  as  the  master's  cleri- 
cal assistants.  One  school  has  all  its  notices  typewritten 
or  multigraphed  by  commercial  pupils,  who  also  do 
much  of  the  clerical  work  for  the  evening  school  which 
is  held  in  the  same  building." 

Valuable  suggestion  and  information  is  to  be  found  in 
the  chapter  entitled  "  Summary  and  Outlook."  Attention  is 
called  to  the  fact  that  office  service  employs  more  than  five 
hundred  thousand  women  in  the  United  States,  and  that 
this  occupation  ranks  among  the  foremost  for  women  in 
its  opportunities  for  advancement  and  superior  working 
conditions. 

"  One  third  of  the  one  million  and  a  half  workers  in 
1910  were  women,  and  one  of  its  three  divisions,  ste- 
nography and  typewriting,  was  practically  and  is  in- 
creasingly monopolized  by  women,  who  constituted  more 
than  four  fifths  the  total  number.  Tlie  wage  scale  is 
much  higher  than  that  of  the  better  industries  and  of 


6o  Commercial  Education 

the  other  great  commercial  occupation,  salesmanship. 
Only  one  sixth  of  the  ii  77  women  studied  through  a 
local  canvass  of  offices  earned  less  than  $8,  and  the  j 
average  wage  for  the  entire  group  was  $11.01.  Nor  * 
is  the  wage  in  office  service  greatly  reduced  as  in  most 
other  occupations ;  for  holidays,  vacations,  and  absences 
on  account  of  illness  were  paid  for  in  the  great  majority 
of  cases.  It  has  been  found  that  the  nominal  and  actual 
earnings  of  the  clerical  worker  were  more  nearly  iden- 
tical than  in  any  of  the  six  large  women-employing  occu- 
pations. Moreover,  hours  were  shorter  and  the  physi- 
cal conditions  of  work  better  for  the  majority  than  in 
most  lines  of  work." 

The  suggestions  most  important  to  the  commercial  edu- 
cator may  be  summarized  as  follows :  j 

1.  Recognition  and  application  of  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  vocational  education,  such  as  acquaintance  with 
business  demands  and  the  trend  of  development;  knowl- 
edge of  capacities  and  possibilities  of  prospective  workers ; 
placement  by  means  of  close  connection  with  worker  and 
employer. 

2.  The  concrete  advantages  of  extended  education  should 
be  made  clear  to  all  parents  and  children ;  all  who  possibly 
can  do  it  should  be  urged  to  take  a  four-year  high  school 
course.  A  fifth  year  intensive  course  of  purely  technical 
training  should  be  developed  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  com- 
paratively large  proportion  who  now  go  to  private  business 
colleges  for  additional  specialized  training. 

3.  Intensified  commercial  courses  at  the  beginning  of 
the  high  school  period  are  of  very  questionable  value  in  the 
light  of  the  facts  regarding  wages  brought  out  in  the  report. 

4.  Part-time  schooling  in  training  for  office  service  is 
recommended,  so  that  the  prospective  worker  may  be  initi- 
ated gradually  into  the  business  world.  School  courses  will 
have  a  significance  possible  under  no  other  plan;    also  op- 


Three  Investigations  6i 

portunities  for  placement  of  pupils  will  be  opened  and  a 
situation  of  cooperation  and  intelligent  understanding 
brought  about  between  employer  and  teacher. 

5.  Teachers  should  keep  in  close  touch  with  business 
men  and  offices,  since  office  service  is  in  a  state  of  transition 
due  to  the  growth  of  the  large  office  and  the  improved 
methods  of  office  administration,  and  to  the  introduction 
of  time  and  labor  saving  machinery. 

The  report  urges  the  business  man  to  do  his  share  in 
bringing  about  improved  methods  of  training  for  office 
service.  He  is  asked  to  aid  the  educator  in  formulating 
standards  for  young  commercial  employees;  these  stand- 
ards should  cover  educational,  technical,  and  personal  re- 
quirements. The  business  man  should  cooperate  with  the 
educator  by  means  of  talks  to  teachers  and  pupils,  and  by 
furnishing  opportunities  for  part-time  experience  in  busi- 
ness houses,  together  with  assistance  in  the  problem  of 
proper  placing  of  school  graduates. 

THE   BOSTON    CHAMBER   OF    COMMERCE   INVESTIGATION 

Some  of  the  main  conclusions  of  the  investigation  con- 
ducted by  the  Boston  Chamber  of  Commerce  ^  will  be  con- 
sidered next.  The  method  used  in  the  investigation  is 
quite  similar  to  that  adopted  in  the  study  presented  above, 
and  consists  of  an  examination  of  the  products  of  the  school 
system  rather  than  an  investigation  of  the  resources,  meth- 
ods, and  organization  of  the  schools.  The  vocational  his- 
tories of  a  considerable  number  of  men  and  women  actually 
employed  in  Boston  business  houses  were  studied  and  were 
made  the  basis  for  the  conclusions  of  the  report.  Care  was 
taken  that  material  furnished  to  the  investigator  should  be 
considered  confidential.  No  one  was  expected  to  sign  his 
name  to  his  vocational  history,  or  to  furnish  any  clue  as  to 
his  identity  or  place  of  employment.     In  spite  of  these 

1  See  page  53. 


62  Commercial  Education 

assurances,  however,  many  business  men  were  unwilling 
to  allow  employees  to  furnish  the  material  desired.  By 
means  of  a  wide  canvass,  a  sufficient  number  of  responses 
was  secured  to  form  probable  conclusions. 

The  number  of  vocational  histories  received  and  classi- 
fied was  eleven  hundred  and  sixty-five  (1165),  men  and 
women.  The  report  deals  primarily  with  the  facts  concern- 
ing the  status  of  men  in  business,  while  figures  regarding 
women  appear  in  a  less  degree.  The  report  disclaims  any 
intention  to  be  dogmatic,  because  the  returns  are  too  few, 
but  does  affirm  that  the  material  collected  is  of  sufficient 
weight  to  indicate  significant  tendencies. 

Before  discussing  the  statistical  parts  of  the  report  it  will 
be  helpful  to  state  something  of  the  general  point  of  view 
possessed  by  the  investigator.  This  general  attitude  is  well 
illustrated  in  the  comparison  made  between  business  organi- 
zations and  schools,  a  comparison  pointing  out  the  essential 
differences  characterizing  the  procedure  of  each. 

"  Successful  modern  business  is  built  upon  an  ac- 
counting system  that  compels  the  manufacturer  and  the 
merchant  to  know  the  cost  and  the  return  on  every  form 
of  activity  undertaken  in  the  business.  The  day  when 
the  business  man  could  rest  satisfied,  year  in  and  year 
out,  if  only  his  net  results  were  shown  by  an  annual 
inventory  to  be  on  the  right  side,  has  long  passed.  Any 
losing  venture  is  soon  detected  and  is  either  reorganized 
or  dropped  from  the  business." 

"  Our  educational  enterprises,  although  they  involve 
great  business  problems,  have  never  been  forced  by  the 
exigencies  of  competition  to  establish  themselves  upon 
a  solid  accounting  basis.  Such  a  foundation  is  less  easy 
in  school  matters  than  in  ordinary  commercial  affairs. 
The  raw  material  of  the  public  school  is  furnished  to  the 
teaching  staff  with  no  opportunity  of  choice.  Every 
boy  or  girl  who  applies  must  be  given  his  place  and 


Three  Investigations  63 

must  be  worked  upon  by  the  school  machinery.  No  mer- 
cantile establishment  would  attempt  to  give  a  uniform 
output  from  such  a  crude,  unselected  material.  More- 
over, the  product  of  the  school  goes  out  into  business 
or  professional  life,  and  no  report  can  be  required  by  the 
school,  by  which  the  success  or  failure  of  its  manufac- 
turing process  may  be  fully  checked  or  even  approxi- 
mately ascertained." 

A  statistical  inquiry  into  the  wages  paid  to  different 
classes  of  men  commercial  workers  throws  some  light  upon 
monetary  rewards  received.  The  much  discussed  question 
of  whether  or  not  stenography  is  a  desirable  vocation  for 
boys  to  undertake  is  treated,  and  the  path  of  progress  in 
business,  whether  through  the  clerical  or  competitive  ave- 
nues, is  roughly  indicated. 


Comparison  of  the  Earning  Power  of  Men  in  Business 
By  Average  Only  —  Men^ 

Years  Worked          Over2oyrs.   15-20      10-15  S~io  Under  5 

Clerical  Workers  ....           $29.84     $24.55     $22.21  $17.01  $11.80 

Stenographers 25.00       24.32       18.00  16.66  12.16 

Non-clerical  Workers  .    .             34.09       25.35       19.64  17.03  11.95 

Salesmen 30.91       23.39       20.90  17.41  11.97 


Following  the  above  table  are  four  other  tables  giving 
tabulations  of  the  same  individuals,  using  successively  the 
highest  wages  received,  the  lowest  wages  only,  the  mode 
only,  and  the  median  only.  From  the  tables  presented  the 
investigator  makes  the  following  deductions '? 

"  During  the  first  five  years  of  service  the  men  who 
are  stenographers  earn  a  little  better  average  pay  than 

1  Boston  Chamber  of  Commerce  Report,  page  8. 

2  Boston  Chamber  of  Commerce  Report,  page  8. 


64  Commercial  Education 

any  of  the  other  groups  of  men.  Gradually,  however, 
the  men  who  can  adapt  themselves  to  other  than  steno- 
graphic positions  gain  the  higher  rewards." 

"  Stenographers  apparently  do  not  reach  the  highest 
prizes  in  business,  at  least,  so  long  as  they  continue  to 
be  stenographers." 

"  Stenographers  have  a  decided  advantage  over  un- 
trained men  and  keep  well  above  the  minimum  wage  for 
every  period  of  this  service." 

"  It  is  evident  that  the  larger  number  of  clerical 
workers  reach  their  maximum  by  the  end  of  their  fifth 
year  of  service.  They  are  better  off  in  earning  power 
than  are  the  majority  of  non-clerical  workers  up  to  the 
period  of  fifteen  to  twenty  years  of  service.  At  this 
point  an  equal  number  of  men  earn  more  pay  than  do  the 
clerical  workers  and  this  advantage  is  held  throughout 
the  balance  of  the  working  life." 

"  Clerical  workers  are,  perhaps,  most  sure  to  earn  a 
comfortable  wage,  but  in  the  long  run  the  higher  pay 
will  be  most  sure  of  being  reached  through  the  non- 
clerical  side  of  the  business.  An  analysis  of  the  indi- 
vidual cases  which  make  up  the  higher  paid  positions 
among  non-clerical  workers  shows  that  these  men  are 
either  buyers  or  executives  and  that  they  have  reached 
their  present  positions  after  a  service  as  salesmen." 

A  similar  study  applied  to  women  brought  out  markedly 
different  results: 

"  A  glance  at  our  comparison,  by  average  only, 
shows  that  stenography  is  by  a  considerable  margin  the 
most  profitable  field  for  the  young  woman.  During  the 
first  five-year  period,  the  selling  force  offers  the  next 
best  chance.  .  .  .  This  analysis  emphasizes  the  advan- 
tage of  the  stenographer  over  any  other  woman  worker 
in  the  earlier  years,  and  also  shows  that  the  selling  force 


Three  Investigations  65 

offers  a  better  chance  to  the  girl  who  does  not  know 
stenography  than  does  any  other  branch  of  clerical 
work." 

In  a  study  of  transfers  from  clerical  to  non-clerical  posi- 
tions is  brought  out  the  fact  that  transfers  of  this  nature 
are  unusual.^  Of  a  total  number  of  1165  reports,  only  52, 
or  4.5  per  cent,  had  been  so  transferred,  of  whom  43  were 
transferred  from  the  office  to  the  competitive  side  of  the 
business  and  39  reported  advantage  to  themselves  by  the 
change. 

"If  these  figures  are  a  fair  indication  of  what  is 
going  on  in  our  business  life,  it  is  clear  that  the  principal 
line  of  advance  to  any  employee  must  be  in  the  depart- 
ment in  which  he  starts.  Few  will  ever  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  change.  The  need  of  a  broader  training  for 
the  competitive  side  of  the  business  —  where  the  big 
prizes  lie  —  and  some  careful  instruction  by  which  the 
pupil  may  learn  the  opportunities  and  necessary  quali- 
fication for  actual  business,  is  clearly  indicated  by  this 
study."  2 

The  report  also  presents  some  elaborate  tables  upon  the 
relation  of  earning  power  to  total  amount  of  schooling  and 
specialized  forms  of  training.  The  conclusions  are  quite 
similar  to  those  of  the  first  study  presented  in  this  chapter.^ 
Four  years  of  high  school  training  shows  a  real  advantage 
in  a  higher  minimum  wage,  a  higher  maximum  wage,  and 
a  higher  average.  In  the  study  of  the  wages  of  women  in 
this  report  it  was  found  that  private  school  training  (busi- 
ness college)  added  to  three  or  four  years  of  high  school, 
gave  the  highest  earning  power  in  the  group. 

A  study  was  made  of  school  subjects  used  in  business  life. 

1  New  York  Report,  page  112. 

2  Boston  Chamber  of  Commerce  Report,  page  11. 
'  See  page  60. 


66  Commercial  Education 

Employees  were  asked  to  state  which  of  the  following  sub- 
jects had  been  of  business  use  to  them : 

A.  Stenography 

B.  Typewriting 

C.  Bookkeeping 

D.  Penmanship 

E.  Mental  Arithmetic 

F.  Any  other  school  study. 

Affirmative  replies  appear  as  listed  below: 

A.  Stenography  =  221 

B.  Typewriting  =  357 

C.  Bookkeeping  =  446 

D.  Penmanship  =  675 

E.  Mental  Arithmetic  =  664 

F.  Any  other  school  study  (scattering)  =  154  1 

Although  221  persons  report  having  used  stenography, 
only  86  (68  women  and  18  men)  report  themselves  as  ste- 
nographers. The  investigator  infers  that  the  higher  grade 
of  clerical  help  have  begun  work  as  stenographers  and  have 
subsequently  become  office  managers  and  book  workers. 
Since  penmanship  and  mental  arithmetic  appear  largest  in 
the  list,  the  commercial  value  of  these  two  subjects  is  em- 
phasized. Regarding  the  importance  of  stenography,  the 
investigator  has  this  to  say : 

"  The  possibilities  offered  by  a  knowledge  of  stenog- 
raphy seem  to  hold  a  prominent  place  in  this  group  of 
answers.  Evidently,  to  many  of  the  workers,  the  life 
of  the  stenographer  seems  to  open  up  positions  of 
value." 

A  section  of  the  report  now  under  review  is  devoted  to 
a  study  of  returns  from  employers.    The  investigator,  how- 

1  Twenty-four  different  subjects,  of  which  Business  English  heads  the  list 
with  thirty-seven  replies. 


Three  Investigations  67 

ever,  was  unable  to  secure  a  group  sufficiently  large  to  fur- 
nish a  basis  for  conclusive  generalizations.  The  opinions 
of  business  men  regarding  the  efficiency  of  commercial 
courses  were  secured  through  personal  interview.  In  all, 
139  business  employers  were  interviewed  and  their  answers 
to  various  queries  tabulated.^  In  answer  to  the  question, 
"  What  education  beyond  the  grammar  grade  seems  to  you 
valuable?"  we  have  the  following  results: 

Total  number  of  reports  — 139 

No  education  beyond  grammar  school  desired 22  or  15.8  per  cent 

More  education,  but  not  defined 85  or  61.2  per  cent 

Definite  demand  for  higher  training 18  or  13     per  cent 

No  opinion  expressed 14  or  10    per  cent 

It  was  apparent  to  the  investigator  that  many  business 
men  know  very  little  about  the  different  kinds  of  commercial 
courses  available  in  their  own  city. 

As  to  answers  to  the  question,  "  What  are  the  better  pay- 
ing positions  in  your  business?"  the  following  tabulation 
is  of  interest. 

125  responses 

Buyers  and  salesmen 87  or  69.6  per  cent 

Department  heads  and  managers  .21  or  16.8  per  cent 
Office  positions 17  or  13.6  per  cent 

The  value  of  stenography  as  a  means  of  securing  pro- 
motion to  the  better  paid  positions  is  answered  as  follows : 

For  Boys  For  Girls 

No  value 65  44 

Slight  value 10  7 

Real  value 41  66 

No  opinion 23  22 

139  139 

Concerning  the  employer's  attitude  toward  defects  in 
school  training,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  main  criti- 

1  See  Appendix,  page  185. 


68  Commercial  Education 

cism  is  directed  toward  deficiencies  in  the  three  R's.  There 
were  forty-six  who  made  this  complaint,  and  only  five  who 
found  objections  to  the  results  obtained  in  stenography. 
Many  employers  mention  defects  in  moral  and  personal  qual- 
ities, and  counsel  the  schools  to  pay  more  attention  to  the  de- 
velopment of  business  character.  A  similar  condition  was 
found  in  the  investigation  first  treated  in  this  chapter.^ 
That  business  men  as  a  class  do  not  seriously  concern  them- 
selves about  the  character  of  commercial  training  is  well 
illustrated  in  the  report  just  presented  in  outline.  In  the 
several  other  similar  investigations  the  same  situation  is 
evident.^ 

MASSACHUSETTS   STATE   BOARD    OF   EDUCATION 
INVESTIGATION 

The  third  investigation  with  which  this  chapter  deals 
was  made  by  a  sub-committee  of  three  comxiiercial  teachers 
acting  for  a  larger  committee  of  commercial  teachers  selected 
from  the  entire  state  of  Massachusetts.  The  chairman  of 
the  sub-committee,  Mr.  Maynard  Maxim  of  Newton,  has 
prepared  a  brief  summary  of  the  most  important  conclu- 
sions for  this  volume.^ 

"  One  line  of  investigation  carried  out  by  the  com- 
mittee concerned  the  actual  business  experience  of  high 
school  graduates.  Its  object  was  to  show  the  character 
of  the  positions  secured  by  pupils  upon  graduation,  the 
prospects  for  advancement,  the  wages  earned,  etc." 

"  Questions  covering  these  points  were  answered  by 
nearly  five  hundred  graduates  of  high  schools  in  Boston, 
Beverly,  Dorchester,  Maiden,  Newton,  Springfield,  and 
Westfield." 

*  See  pages  60,  6i. 

2  See  page  137;  also  Appendix,  pages  155-158. 

3  Mr.  Maxim's  complete  report  was  not  available  in  time  to  permit  of 
larger  use  in  connection  with  this  volume.  The  complete  report  will  appear 
as  a  Massachusetts  State  Document. 


Boys 

Girls 

.    .    .    .     $7.72 

$7.75 

.    .    .    .      10.12 

923 

.    .    .    .     12.77 

10.73 

.    .    .    .      15.62 

12.14 

.    .    .    .      18.66 

13-18 

Three  Investigations  69 

"  Practically  all  of  the  203  girls  who  rq)orted  were 
engaged  in  clerical  and  general  office  work,  including 
stenography  and  typewriting.  Of  the  278  boys  who 
made  returns,  but  16  classified  their  work  as  that 
of  salesmen.  Fifty-eight  were  doing  stenography  and 
typewTiting,  while  the  remainder  described  their  work 
as  *  clerical,'  '  bookkeeping,'  and  '  general  office  work.' 
Their  average  salaries  appear  in  the  following  table : 

Average  weekly  wage  during  first  year  after  leaving  school, 
counting  only  the  time  when  employed 


Weekly  wage  at  the  beginning  of  first  year  . 
Weekly  wage  at  the  beginning  of  second  year 
Weekly  wage  at  the  beginning  of  third  year  . 
Weekly  wage  at  the  beginning  of  fourth  year 
Weekly  wage  at  the  beginning  of  fifth  year    . 


"  In  reply  to  the  question :  *  From  your  own  experi- 
ence do  you  consider  shorthand  and  typewriting  worth 
a  boy's  while  in  school  for  their  subsequent  value  in 
furnishing  remunerative  employment  ? '  206  boys  stated 
their  belief  that  stenography  and  typewriting  would  be 
of  advantage,  while  57  replied  negatively." 

"  In  reply  to  the  question :  '  From  your  own  experi- 
ence and  observation,  would  you  advise  that  a  boy  try 
to  get  into  the  better-paid  positions  through  office  em- 
ployment or  by  way  of  the  selling  force?'  142  boys 
answered  *  sales  force,'  and  116  gave  their  preference 
to  office  employment." 

"  Inasmuch  as  the  great  majority  of  these  boys  had 
been  out  of  school  but  five  years  or  less,  their  answers 
were  probably  based  on  opinion  rather  than  on  personal 
experience." 

"  It  is  hard  to  account  for  the  fact  that  so  few  of 
these  boys  hold  positions  as  salesmen,  unless  we  assume 
that  promotions  to  this  line  of  work  are  withheld  in  the 


JO  Commercial  Education 

.  case  of  boys  of  high  school  age  until  they  have  had  a 
longer  period  of  apprenticeship  than  the  investigation 
covered." 

"  The  average  salary  of  the  sixteen  boys  who  classi- 
fied themselves  as  salesmen  is  considerably  higher  than 
the  average  of  the  whole,  being  $8.17,  $11.20,  $15.10, 
$20.64,  $24.50,  for  the  respective  years  of  the  fore- 
going table." 

"  It  is  likewise  difficult  to  account  for  the  great  ma- 
jority of  boys  in  favor  of  learning  shorthand  and  type- 
writing when  so  few  are  actually  using  it  in  their  work. 
Without  doubt,  the  ability  to  render  efficient  service  as 
a  stenographer,  when  first  gaining  employment,  brings 
a  boy  into  closer  contact  with  the  men  '  higher  up  '  than 
general  office  and  stock  room  work.  The  subjects  must 
be  thoroughly  mastered,  however,  for  a  half -trained 
boy  stenographer  is  of  no  more  practical  value  to  a  firm 
than  a  similarly  inefficient  girl.  As  a  profession  for 
men,  stenography  offers  boys  few  opportunities.  As 
a  stepping-stone  for  a  boy  seeking  promotion,  stenog- 
raphy, with  typewriting,  may  have  considerable  value; 
but  the  time  required  for  its  mastery  consumes  so  large 
a  part  of  the  final  years  of  a  high  school  course  as  to 
make  it  of  doubtful  expediency." 


CONCLUSIONS  TO  BE  DRAWN  FROM  THE  RESULTS  OF  THE 
THREE  INVESTIGATIONS 

From  the  foregoing  investigations  several  important  con- 
clusions are  evident,  showing  that  both  the  school  and 
organized  business  need  to  make  adjustments  and  to  in- 
corporate changes  looking  towards  improvement. 

I.  The  schools  need  to  adjust  courses  and  methods  to 
correspond  more  closely  to  business  practice.  This  means 
that  most  school  commercial  courses  should  be  modernized 
to  meet  the  new  standards  established  by  large  organization 


f 


Three  Investigations  Jl 

and  specialization  of  occupation.  Our  bookkeeping  courses 
at  present  are  taught  largely  on  the  supposition  that  boys 
and  girls  will  occupy  positions  as  head  accountants.  In 
view  of  the  kind  of  service  demanded,  it  will  be  manifestly 
wiser  to  train  pupils,  by  giving  due  attention  to  skill,  speed, 
and  accuracy,  in  the  unit  processes  in  which  the  student  will 
find  business  openings.  New  equipment  in  the  way  of  spe- 
cial machines,  such  as  adding  machines,  billing  machines, 
card  filing  devices,  and  the  like  must  be  added  to  our  pres- 
ent meager  furnishings. 

2.  The  schools  must  attempt  and  achieve  more  in  the 
way  of  developing  the  personal  qualities  needed  for  success- 
ful participation  in  business.  It  is  apparent  that  business 
men  assign  great  importance  to  personal  qualities,  even 
more  than  to  efficiency  in  technique.  Our  schools  have  al- 
ways sought  to  develop  the  moral  qualities  of  their  pupils, 
but  in  addition  to  this,  commercial  schools  should  try  to 
develop  the  personal  qualities  of  pupils  with  a  specific  view 
to  their  business  importance.  We  should  make  this  train- 
ing concrete,  showing  the  relation  between  personal  quali- 
ties and  success  in  business.  Pupils  who  lack  fortunate  ex- 
amples in  their  home  environment  should  find  in  the  school 
the  specific  information  and  models  needed  for  inspiration 
and  imitation.  The  schools  should  feel  as  much  concern  for 
the  success  of  their  graduates  in  their  personal  relations  in 
business  as  for  the  quality  of  their  technical  instruction. 

3.  Part-time  and  cooperative  plans  will  probably  furnish 
the  only  adequate  method  of  guaranteeing  the  achievement 
of  satisfactory  results  in  producing  more  competent  com- 
mercial graduates.  By  such  methods  only  can  the  pupil  be 
checked,  judged,  and  improved  while  under  training.  This 
plan  renders  it  possible  to  measure  practice  against  theory. 
No  form  of  applied  education  has  been  able  to  succeed  with- 
out the  adoption  of  the  plan  of  testing  the  neophyte  in  the 
practical  operations  of  his  art,  and  of  criticising  and  cor- 
recting mistakes  which  could  not  be  foreseen  in  purely  the- 
oretical training.     The  cooperation  and  understanding  of 


72  Commercial  Education 

business  men  are  also  important  advantages  to  be  gained 
by  the  adoption  of  part-time  and  cooperative  plans  of  com- 
mercial training. 

4.  Guidance,  placement,  and  follow-up  work  are  essential 
features  of  a  well-ordered,  comprehensive,  and  effective  plan 
of  commercial  training.  Pupils  are  not  at  present  guided 
to  suitable  commercial  positions  or  placed  in  them.  Much 
waste,  discouragement,  and  failure  are  assignable  to  this 
condition.  At  the  present  time,  our  schools  are  not  fur- 
nished with  the  resources,  funds,  and  expert  service  neces- 
sary to  undertake  these  additional  functions ;  but  communi- 
ties seeking  to  increase  substantially  the  efficiency  of  applied 
education  must  soon  recognize  and  meet  the  deficiency. 

5.  Commercial  education  must  expand  its  scope  to  in- 
clude training  for  commercial  occupations  other  than  cleri- 
cal. The  above  investigations  indicate  that  while  stenog- 
raphy is  the  best  paid  commercial  vocation  for  a  girl,  for  a 
boy  salesmanship  is  better  than  all  other  commercial  occu- 
pations. Merchandizing  or  competitive  functions  of  busi- 
ness for  boys  offer  the  best  opportunities,  because  ste- 
nography is  a  rapidly  disappearing  occupation  for  men. 
Commercial  courses,  consequently,  must  be  recast  to  fur- 
nish training  for  commercial  opportunities  discoverable  in 
actual  business. 

6.  Business  men  must  do  more  than  find  fault  with  the 
schools.  They  must  participate  in  the  training  process.  We 
hear  much  of  the  criticisms  of  business  men  on  the  schools, 
and  school  teachers  have  encouraged  full  expressions  of 
opinions.  It  is  important  now  that  business  men  should  aid 
the  schools  in  the  honest  and  serious  effort  to  better  their 
work.  The  schools  invite  and  seek  cooperation;  school 
directors  are  apparently  more  eager  to  do  their  share  than 
are  business  men.  Our  varied  social  and  industrial  institu- 
tions are  passing  beyond  the  period  of  individualism.  Busi- 
ness is  no  longer  merely  business,  nor  are  schools  mere  edu- 
cational institutions.  The  inter-connections  which  charac- 
terize  all   the  more   perfect   organisms   are   taking   form 


Three  Investigations  73 

throughout  our  social  structure ;  our  schools  must  become  in 
part  business,  and  business  must  become  in  part  schools. 

Reference  should  be  made  in  this  chapter  to  those  con- 
clusions and  positions  appearing  in  this  book,  particularly  in 
the  chapter  presenting  the  New  York  Report,^  which  the 
material  in  the  above  reviewed  investigations  does  not 
strictly  support. 

The  positions  in  the  New  York  Report  were  taken  chiefly 
on  the  assumption  of  a  working  hypothesis  supported  mainly 
by  such  general  studies  as  were  possible  in  view  of  the  limi- 
tations of  time  and  resources;  these  positions  were  not 
stated  as  certain,  but  urged  as  probable  in  the  light  of  avail- 
able evidence.  Attention  should  be  called  to  the  fact  that 
the  New  York  Report  urged  immediate  and  further  inves- 
tigations, on  the  ground  that  the  prime  need  of  commercial 
education  is  competent  evidence  upon  which  to  base  its 
procedure.  Further  evidence  is  now  beginning  to  appear 
in  the  various  investigations  recently  undertaken,  instances 
of  which  this  chapter  presents. 

It  is  recognizable  that  the  classification  of  commercial 
occupations  as  "  enervating "  and  ''  energizing,"  and  the 
assumption  that  clerical  occupations  come  under  the  first 
caption  and  competitive  callings  come  under  the  second, 
has  in  it  more  of  error  than  of  truth.  The  investigations 
presented  in  this  chapter  show  that  clerical  and  competitive 
commercial  occupations  both  present  situations  where  one 
may  find  either  business  success  or  failure.  It  would  be 
more  accurate  to  state  that  clerical  and  competitive  func- 
tions of  business  have  within  their  respective  fields  oppor- 
tunities for  satisfactory  advance  as  well  as  dangers  of 
"  dead-end  jobs."  For  girls,  at  least,  stenography,  which 
is  a  clerical  occupation,  presents  the  best  economic  reward 
and  in  many  ways  the  most  desirable  conditions  of 
employment. 

The  reasons  assigned  in  the  New  York  Report  ^  for  the 

»  Chapter  VI,  page  130.  *  See  Chapter  VI,  page  131. 


74  Commercial  Education 

poorer  quality  of  commercial  pupils  found  in  high  schools 
are  probably  untenable ;  at  least,  other  factors  are  stronger 
in  the  selective  process  than  the  failure  of  commercial  edu- 
cation to  conceive  its  function  on  a  broader  plane. 

The  report  of  the  Women's  Educational  and  Industrial 
Union  ^  would  indicate  that  the  economic  status  of  the  par- 
ents is  a  strong  factor ;  so  also  is  the  ambition  and  ability 
of  the  child  to  go  to  college,  as  well  as  the  general  social 
attitude  toward  desirable  means  of  preparing  for  livelihood. 
Thus  it  was  found  that  the  economically  most  favored  dis- 
trict high  school  in  Boston  has  but  fifty  per  cent  of  its 
pupils  enrolled  in  commercial  courses,  whereas  less  fortu- 
nate sections  of  the  city  showed  a  proportion  as  high  as 
ninety  per  cent  of  commercial  pupils. 

It  may  be  fairly  claimed,  however,  that  the  investiga- 
tions of  this  chapter  confirm  rather  than  refute  the  main 
positions  taken  throughout  the  volume.  We  shall  need,  of 
course,  more  study  of  all  the  questions  with  which  this  vol- 
ume deals,  and  of  other  problems  besides.  The  time  has 
probably  come  when  state  and  national  authorities  should 
undertake  and  carry  on  further  inquiries.  No  subject  within 
the  range  of  secondary  public  instruction  has  larger  inter- 
ests or  involves  more  pupils  and  more  extensive  investment 
of  public  money,  than  commercial  education.  In  our  efforts 
to  bring  about  more  effective  educational  achievements,  it 
is  important  that  our  already  established  courses  attempting 
commercial  education  should  receive  the  advantage  of  ex- 
pert advice  similar  to  that  available  for  the  newer  school 
endeavors  represented  by  our  recently  founded  industrial 
and  trade  schools. 

1  See  page  55. 


CHAPTER   V 
CONSTRUCTIVE    PROPOSALS 

THE  new  commercial  courses  to  be  established  must 
proceed  primarily  from  the  objective  conditions  of 
commerce,  in  so  far  as  they  are  discernible  and  significant, 
and  from  the  reasonable  possibilities  and  legitimate  aspira- 
tions of  boys  and  girls ;  only  secondarily  must  they  proceed 
from  those  influences  which  we  now  fancy  are  school  necesr 
sities.  The  form  and  content  of  vocational  education  must 
be  drawn  from  the  vocation,^ while  the  determination  of 
particular  methods  may  remain  with  the  school  teachers  as 
heretofore.  Without  restricting  its  appropriate  functions, 
the  school  under  this  procedure  will  render  better  service 
to  society;  for  the  newer  and  better  ideal  of  social  better- 
ment is  that  of  service,  not  of  domination. 

THE   RANGE  OF    COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION 

Commercial  education  in  the  future  cannot  be  limited  to 
the  preparation  for  a  few  commercial  vocations,  such  as 
bookkeeping  and  stenography,  but  must  expand  to  include 
preparation  for  a  wide  range  of  different  activities,  as  wide 
perhaps  as  the  entire  range  of  occupations  in  commerce; 
and  very  likely  even  within  the  different  occupations  for 
subdivisions  of  higher  or  lower  degree.^  Industrial  edu- 
cation is  adopting  a  policy  of  founding  unit  courses  corre- 
sponding to  the  specialized  organization  of  industry.  There 
is  much  suggestion  in  this  practice  for  commercial  educa- 

*  An  analysis  of  the  division  of  work  existing  in  a  large  retail  house  in 
Boston  revealed  two  hundred  different  kinds  of  jobs,  or  unit  occupations,  in 
which  one  or  more  individuals  were  employed. 

75 


76  Commercial  Education 

tion.  Commerce,  like  industry,  has  a  wide  range  of  occu- 
pations for  one  of  which  each  normal  boy  or  girl  may 
receive  training.  What  the  unit  courses  in  commercial  edu- 
cation may  prove  to  be  must  be  determined  by  investigation 
and  experiment.  Some  suggestions  upon  the  matter  are 
given  in  the  chapter  upon  investigations  (page  58). 

We  are  beginning  in  progressive  states  (e.g.,  Massachu- 
setts, Ohio,  New  York,  Wisconsin)  a  program  of  educa- 
tional expansion  toward  the  improvement  of  young  people 
already  employed.^  Commercial  education  has  a  large  and 
proper  function  in  continuation  schools.  A  considerable 
number  of  continuation  school  pupils  will  need  commercial 
education  in  some  form.  If  we  divorce  our  regular  day 
school  commercial  work  from  that  adopted  for  continuation 
schools,  we  shall  build  up  a  water-tight  compartment  sys- 
tem which  will  result  in  a  needless  duplication  of  machinery 
and  effort.  If  commercial  education  were  to  remain  static, 
a  newer  and  better  plan  for  continuation  schools  would 
obviously  be  necessary ;  but  an  adequate  and  improved  plan 
for  day  schools  should  be  developed  which  will  be  compre- 
hensive and  efficient  enough  for  many  continuation  school 
needs.  A  suggestive  example  of  sound  organization  is  seen 
in  the  city  of  Leipzig,  where  the  whole  compass  of  commer- 
cial education  is  found  in  one  organization.  The  same 
director,  corps  of  teachers,  plant,  and  equipment  constitute 
the  educational  resources  in  that  city  for  commercial  edu- 
cation of  all  grades.  Many  types  of  commercial  instruction 
are  necessarily  maintained.  In  the  same  institution  are 
found  the  boy  who  leaves  school  at  the  earliest  legal  age 
and  the  boy  who  persists  a  year  or  two  longer ;  here  is  main- 
tained the  school  corresponding  to  our  commercial  high 
schools,  and  students  of  university  grade  are  under  the 
same  director  and  are  taught  in  part  by  instructors  who  con- 
duct courses  in  the  lower  schools. 

This  system  is  sound  financially  and  sound  educationally. 

1  Compulsory  Continuation  Schools. 


Constructive  Proposals  y^ 

By  means  of  one  plant  all  the  educational  needs  are  met  with 
a  minimum  of  cost,  for  there  is  no  idle  machinery  and  no 
duplication  of  equipment.  From  an  educational  aspect  the 
plan  is  commendable  in  that  there  is  no  confusion  of  poli- 
cies respecting  the  treatment  of  problems.  Commercial  edu- 
cation under  this  system  is  not,  as  with  us,  one  thing  in  day 
schools,  another  in  evening  schools,  and  something  entirely 
foreign  in  continuation  schools.  In  our  large  cities  we  need 
to  coordinate  and  unify  our  various  educational  agencies 
dealing  with  the  problem  of  commercial  education   (page 

Logically,  then,  the  organization,  equipment,  and  teach- 
ing force  of  day  high  schools  should  be  made  available  for 
that  part  of  continuation  work  needed  by  junior  commercial 
employees.  This  connection  will  prove  mutually  advanta- 
geous: to  the  continuation  school  by  providing  adequate 
facilities  at  a  minimum  cost,  and  to  the  regular  school  by 
giving  opportunity  to  deal  directly  with  actual  commercial 
needs.  The  consideration  of  cost  to  communities  will  prove 
a  particularly  substantial  argument,  for  the  financial  burden 
of  education  now  borne  cannot  be  greatly  increased  for 
desirable  educational  extensions  without  undue  sacrifice.  " 

We  have  argued  throughout  this  volume  that  commercial 
education  should  become  truly  vocational,  and  a  definition 
of  principles  has  been  given  (page  132) .  Of  these  principles, 
that  of  having  opportunity  for  practice  under  actual  con- 
ditions is  of  more  than  ordinary  importance.  Indeed,  an 
opportunity  for  practical  work  is  probably  the  prime  essen- 
tial in  all  kinds  of  vocational  education.  The  medical  stu- 
dent has  hospital  practice ;  the  normal  school  pupil  is  given 
practice  teaching;  the  trade  school  student  works  in  a 
school  shop,  which  commonly  turns  out  a  product  sold  un- 
der competitive  terms  in  an  open  market,  or  else  works  part 
time  in  an  actual  shop  under  real  conditions.  Theoretical 
training  attempted  as  preparation  for  any  definite  end  with- 
out full  opportunity  for  practice  has  proved  unprofitable. 
Nearly  all  vocational  education  in  the  past  was  originally 


J 


78  Commercial  Education 

instituted  with  little  opportunity  for  practical  participation 
in  activities  which  were  real;  and  all  these  attempts  have 
gone  through  an  evolution  which  ended  in  a  condition  where 
the  missing  essential  was  supplied.  Many  of  our  scholastic 
enterprises,  not  vocational,  but  seeking  to  instruct  in  ob- 
jective facts,  have  gone  through  a  similar  evolution.  We 
formerly  taught  physics  and  chemistry  out  of  textbooks 
only.  Now  we  take  the  pupil  into  the  laboratory  and  strive 
to  have  him  acquire  his  knowledge  firsthand,  by  the  experi- 
mental method,  as  we  term  it. 

^       VOCATIONAL   PRACTICE   IN    COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION 


Commercial  education  has  had  its  laboratory  of  actual 
practice,  commonly  in  the  form  of  the  model  office.  Text- 
books made  up  largely  of  practical  problems  have  furnished 
material  of  substantial  and  practical  value  to  the  student 
preparing  for  clerical  occupations  in  commerce.  Further- 
more, these  devices  have  been  the  only  forms  available  for 
vocational  practice  feasible  for  use  under  conditions  that 
have  quite  generally  prevailed,  and  in  many  places  they  may 
prove  to  be  devices  for  clerical  education  which  must  be 
relied  upon  for  some  time  to  come.  But  obviously  these 
devices  lack  reality,  no  matter  how  carefully  they  may  be 
maintained;  they  are  at  the  b^t  a  makeshift  and  cannot 
compete  in  effectiveness  with^he  opportunities  which  real 
offices  and  real  problems  present.  Their  limitations  are  at 
once  apparent  when  we  consider  their  inadequacy  for  the 
practical  training  of  young  persons  for  commercial  occupa- 
tions other  than  clerical,  and,  consequently,  for  a  large  por- 
tion of  possible  and  desirable  commercial  training  they  are 
valueless.  We  cannot  teach  salesmanship  or  store  service 
by  means  of  a  model  office.  We  can  hardly  expec);  to  estab- 
lish a  model  store  in  our  schools ;  the  difficulties  (hi  simulat- 
ing business  conditions,  other  than  those  we  now  have,  for 
clerical  pupils  need  no  extended  exposition./  Industrial 
education,  confronted  with  a  similar  problem,  is  choosing 


Constructive  Proposals  79 

a  wise  and  economical  solution  by  seeking  to  use  the  factory 
as  the  means  of  opportunity  for  practice  and  experience, 
e.g.,  in  the  Beverly  and  Fitchburg  plans.  The  way  out  for 
commercial  education  is  along  a  similar  path,  and  the  busi- 
ness house  should  furnish  the  opportunity  needed. 

If  there  is  established  a  real  and  vital  connection  between 
the  regular  high  schools  and  the  continuation  schools,  where 
the  latter  are  established,  we  may  more  easily  make  progress 
in  securing  the  business  house  as  the  laboratory  of  com- 
mercial experience.  The  business  man  may  perhaps  be  led 
to  see  a  way  to  cooperate  not  hitherto  recognized.  If  the 
business  man  sends  his  junior  employees  for  a  part  of  the 
time  to  the  school,  why  should  not  the  school  send  its  pupils 
for  a  part  of  the  time  to  the  business  house  ?  Let  us  assume 
a  concrete  situation.  A  business  house  has  at  certain  pe- 
riods —  for  example,  four  hours  a  week  during  the  working 
hours  —  a  hundred  employees  at  continuation  school ;  may 
not  the  school  send  a  hundred  commercial  students  from 
its  classrooms  to  take  the  place  of  those  temporarily  at 
school?  There  are  difficulties  to  such  a  plan,  no  doubt; 
there  will  arise  questions  of  compensation,  lack  of  knowl- 
edge of  store  conditions,  chances  of  loss  through  inexperi- 
enced help,  and  the  like ;  but  there  are  no  fundamental  ob- 
stacles to  trying  the  experiment.  It  should  not  be  more 
difficult  for  the  business  man  to  adjust  himself  to  a  new 
situation  than  for  the  schoolmaster.  Our  proposition  offers 
a  fair  trade :  the  business  man  to  train  the  school  boy  and 
the  schoolmaster  to  instruct  the  business  employee. 

To  make  such  a  plan  work  successfully,  changes  in  the 
school  as  well  as  adjustment  in  the  business  house  are  neces- 
sary. Industrial  education,  in  operating  a  shop  and  school 
plan,  uses  the  coordinator,  i.e.,  an  instructor  who  has  had 
experience  in  shop  practice  and  has  also  had  experience  in 
the  classroom  as  a  teacher.  With  this  double  equipment  the 
coordinator  can  deal  effectively  with  the  twofold  situation 
presented.  We  shall  probably  need  to  adopt  a  similar  pro- 
cedure in  the  case  of  commercial  education  if  we  are  to 


8o  Commercial  Education 

obtain  an  effective  method  of  bringing  the  school  and  the 
business  house  together.  Where  conditions  permit,  the 
week-and-week  plan  characteristic  of  industrial  education 
should  be  tried.^ 

The  matter  of  arranging  high  school  programs  to  permit 
pupils  to  be  absent  from  school  certain  periods  on  particular 
days  undoubtedly  presents  real  difficulties  of  adjustment. 
The  week-and-week  plan  —  i.e.,  the  Beverly  and  Fitchburg 
plan  —  presents  practically  no  program  difficulty.  Where 
absences  come  at  irregular  intervals,  or  even  on  regular  re- 
curring days  of  the  week,  the  difficulties  of  program  adjust- 
ment are  more  than  apparent.  For  the  economical  and  effi- 
cient administration  of  a  high  school,  regular  schedules 
for  teachers  and  pupils  are  a  necessity.  Where  part-time 
pupils  pursuing  commercial  studies  are  required  to  be  in 
the  stores  on  certain  days,  such  as  Mondays,  the  difficulty 
arises  concerning  the  proper  provisions  for  meeting  the 
academic  assignments  arranged  for  the  day.  The  schedule 
for  teachers  who  teach  related  academic  studies  in  the  school 
may  be  unwarrantedly  disturbed. 

The  school  seeking  to  establish  effective  commercial  train- 
ing must  face  these  difficulties.  The  adoption  of  the  depart- 
mental or  sub-school  organization  will  be  one  effective 
method  of  meeting  program  difficulties ;  by  this  device  only 
one  department  is  disturbed  and  program  difficulties  do  not 
pervade  the  whole  school  (page  41).  Again,  practice  work 
in  stores  may  be  sought  chiefly  on  Saturdays  or  confined  to 
particular  seasons  of  the  year,  such  as  the  spring  or  fall. 
Pupils  might  work  the  first  half  day  on  Monday  and  return 
to  the  school  in  the  afternoon  for  a  two-hour  session, 
wherein  the  academic  work  designed  for  the  morning  might 
be  given  in  condensed  form.  All  these  program  difficulties 
will  be  adjusted  in  some  suitable  way  if  the  worth  of  actual 
practice  work  is  sufficiently  recognized  by  the  schools.  If 
school  credits  and  conventional  high  school  requirements  are 

*  Now  being  undertaken  in  connection  with  commercial  courses  in  Cin- 
cinnati. 


Constructive  Proposals  8 1 

chiefly  esteemed,  cooperative  relations  with  business  houses 
will  appear  as  secondary  in  importance,  and  the  difficulties 
of  part-time  arrangements  will  loom  so  large  that  nothing 
so  disturbing  to  the  school  routine  will  appear  advisable. 

Much  of  the  progress  toward  cooperation  between  the 
schools  and  business  will  necessarily  depend  upon  the  atti- 
tude of  business  men.  The  routine  and  orderly  procedure 
of  the  business  house  are  not  less  important  to  the  store  than 
similar  regularity  is  to  the  school.  Temporary,  untrained, 
and  immature  workers  in  the  store  threaten  the  serenity  of 
business  managers  as  much  as  the  unusual  conditions  men- 
tioned above  disturb  the  school.  The  business  executive 
has  less  control  of  certain  business  conditions  than  the 
school  principal  has  of  the  program.  The  seasonable  de- 
mands of  trade  arise  from  the  habits  of  society;  due  to 
social  custom,  Monday  has  come  to  be  the  shopping  day; 
the  stores  may  use  additional  help  to  advantage  only  when 
need  for  more  workers  creates  a  larger  demand.  Primarily, 
the  business  man  must  feel  the  need  of  better  service  and 
greater  efficiency  in  his  employees;  he  must  recognize  the 
function  of  training  as  a  means  of  securing  these  qualities 
and  must  see  in  the  school  the  agency  for  furnishing  effec- 
tive training.  He  must  not  look  upon  the  school  as  a  source 
of  profitable  exploitation  to  be  used  purely  as  temporary 
exigencies  may  suggest.  The  business  man  must  recognize 
his  duty  toward  the  education  of  business  apprentices.  He 
must  make  sacrifices  similar  to  those  of  the  schoolmaster 
and  bear  his  part  of  the  inconvenience  and  cost  of  coopera- 
tive education. 

The  greatest  difficulty  besetting  the  problem  of  cooper- 
ative education  between  commercial  high  schools  and  busi- 
ness houses  will  be  found  in  the  mental  attitudes  of  the 
two  potentially  cooperating  agents.  Both  may  admit  the 
abstract  proposition  that  cooperative  education  is  theoret- 
ically desirable,  but  their  convictions  may  be  too  weak  to 
cause  them  to  study  the  problem  with  sufficient  seriousness 
to  discover  practical  plans  of  cooperation.     The  business 


82  Commercial  Education 

man  may  applaud  the  idea  of  cooperative  education,  but 
maintain  that  the  pecuHar  conditions  of  his  store  prevent 
him  from  participation.  The  school  man  may  give  assent 
and  approval  to  cooperative  educational  principles,  but  see 
insuperable  difficulties  against  adoption  because  of  the  wide 
departure  from  the  customs  and  practices  of  his  school  or- 
ganization which  the  plan  involves.  This  situation  should 
not  be  discouraging,  for  it  is  merely  normal  and  has  been 
paralleled  often  heretofore  when  progressive  movements 
have  been  temporarily  halted  by  the  disturbing  difficulties 
of  new  conditions.  If  cooperative  education  is  education- 
ally sound  and  economically  desirable,  the  preliminary  diffi- 
culties of  adjustment  will  be  overcome.  There  will  be 
found  some  more  efficient  business  men  who  will  be  willing 
to  make  the  venture,  and  some  more  enterprising  school  men 
who  will  undertake  the  experiment.  Imitation  is  easier  than 
experiment,  just  as  settlement  is  easier  than  exploration, 
and  the  majority  of  both  business  men  and  school  men  may 
be  expected  to  follow  the  path  which  their  more  enterpris- 
ing leaders  have  prepared. 

BOSTON    EXPERIMENTS    IN    COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION 

The  city  of  Boston  has  begun  to  experiment  vigorously 
with  possibilities  of  cooperative  commercial  education.  As 
previously  stated,  the  Boston  High  School  of  Commerce 
has  conducted  cooperative  work  since  its  beginning  in  1906. 
Since  191 3,  courses  in  salesmanship  with  cooperative  feat- 
ures have  been  established  in  the  Girls'  High  School  and  in 
the  Dorchester  High  School.  In  January,  19 14,  a  marked 
extension  of  cooperative  education  was  undertaken  by  the 
school  authorities.  A  director  ^  of  practice  work  in  sales- 
manship was  appointed  to  coordinate  commercial  courses 
in  general  high  schools  throughout  the  city  with  practical 
work  in  a  group  of  some  six  or  seven  cooperating  stores. 

*  Mrs.  Lucinda  W.  Prince,  formerly  director  of  the  school  of  salesmanship 
Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union,  Boston. 


Constructive  Proposals  83 

The  new  cooperative  courses  are  optional  with  the  schools, 
but  the  desire  to  undertake  the  experiment  is  apparently 
strong".  Brighton  and  East  Boston  High  Schools  have  es- 
tablished cooperative  courses,  and  the  high  schools  of  Rox- 
bury,  West  Roxbury,  Hyde  Park,  South  Boston,  and 
Charlestown  are  planning  to  do  so  with  the  opening  of 
school  in  September,  1914.  The  work  of  the  director  of 
practice  is  an  important  feature  in  the  hoped-for  success  of 
the  undertaking.  Unbearable  confusion  to  business  man- 
agers would  be  the  result  if  each  individual  school  sought 
to  arrange  practice  periods  with  the  stores.  The  director 
of  practice  learns  the  possibilities  of  practice  in  the  differ- 
ent stores,  and  is  at  the  same  time  familiar  with  the  general 
conditions  of  the  schools.  Thus  she  is  able  to  coordinate 
the  work  between  the  store  and  the  school  so  that  the  mini- 
mum confusion  may  result.  The  director  of  practice  has 
authority  also  to  deal  with  the  technical  salesmanship 
courses  attempted  in  the  schools,  has  supervisory  functions 
over  the  teachers  of  salesmanship,  and  possesses  familiarity 
with  the  moral,  physical,  and  business  conditions  of  the 
store  where  the  pupils  are  sent.  She  brings  to  the  store  the 
knowledge  of  the  limitations  and  possibilities  of  the  school, 
and  to  the  school  the  demands  and  difficulties  of  the  store. 

The  above  plan  is  designed  to  bring  about  effective  meth- 
ods of  teaching  salesmanship.  Girls  in  high  school  are 
almost  exclusively  concerned  with  the  experiment.  The 
High  School  of  Commerce,  attended  only  by  boys,  operates 
a  plan  of  longer  duration,  designed  to  meet  the  different 
conditions  which  boys  find  in  business.  The  Dorchester 
High  School  is  developing  a  plan  for  cooperative  work  in 
connection  with  clerical  commercial  education,  and  '^he 
Charlestown  High  School  proposes  to  make  the  same  ven- 
ture, beginning  in  September,  19 14.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  the  present  general  adoption  in  Boston  of  seem- 
ingly radical  methods  in  commercial  education  has  not  been 
brought  about  by  compulsion  on  the  part  of  school  authori- 
ties, but  rather  by  invitation  to  participate  in  an  experimen- 


84  Commercial  Education 

tal  educational  project.  Considerable  freedom  regarding 
the  character  of  the  courses  is  allowed.  One  desirable  re- 
quirement is  made,  viz.,  that  teachers  of  salesmanship 
shall  be  those  duly  qualified  by  business  experience  and 
training  to  give  the  technical  instruction. 

At  the  present  time,  no  careful  attempt  is  made  to  relate 
the  general  instruction  to  salesmanship.  The  suggestive 
programs  presented  below  may  be  analyzed  roughly  as  made 
up  of  general  unrelated  academic  work,  such  as  English  and 
modern  languages ;  related  technical  work,  such  as  commer- 
cial geography,  economics,  and  textiles ;  and  purely  techni- 
cal or  vocational  work,  such  as  shorthand,  bookkeeping,  and 
salesmanship.  It  is  believed  that  experience  will  show  that 
the  courses  should  be  conceived  and  administered  as  related 
academic  and  technical  subjects,  and  purely  technical  work. 


PROGRAM  OF  THE  EAST  BOSTON   HIGH  SCHOOL  ^ 

The  work  in  the  first,  second,  and  third  years  includes 
subjects  already  established  in  the  school,  e.g.,  English, 
a  foreign  language,  commercial  geography,  industrial  his- 
tory, drawing,  and  manual  training.  Stenography  and  type- 
writing may  be  elected  in  place  of  a  foreign  language  during 
the  third  and  fourth  years. 

Fourth  year.    Salesmanship,  Store  Practice,  etc 3  points  ^ 

Textiles 2  points^ 

Color  and  Design i  point  ^ 


PROGRAM   OF  THE  WEST  ROXBURY   HIGH  SCHOOL  ^ 

Pupils  may  select  from  elective  program    (English  re- 
quired) subjects  totalling  in  points  not  less  than  20. 

*  Abridged  to  show  incorporation  of  Salesmanship. 

*  Twenty  points  are  required  for  a  full  year's  work. 

*  Abridged  to  show  incorporation  of  Salesmanship. 


Constructive  Proposals 


85 


Second  year.    Commercial  Geography  and  Industrial  His- 
tory     3  or  4  points 

Third  year.       Textiles,  including  Color  and  Design  .    .    .  3  or  4  points 
Fourth  year.     Merchandise  and  Salesmanship 3  or  4  points 


PROGRAM   OF  THE  DORCHESTER   HIGH   SCHOOL 
Showing  offering  in  the  fourth  year  for  various  commercial  needs 


FOURTH   YEAR 


Required 

English      3  points 

Modem  Language  .    .    3  or  4  points 

Phonography  and  Type- 
writing   6  or  4  points 

Commercial  Law  or  Tex- 
tiles (for  girls  in  Sales- 
manship) 


Elective  (choose  one) 

Economics 4  points 

Physics  (for  boys)    ....  3  points 

Chemistry 4  points 

Drawing 3  points 

Bookkeeping 4  points 

Salesmanship  ^ 

(Wholesale,  boys)    ...  4  points 
Salesmanship  ^ 

(Retail,  girls) 4  points 

Pupils  may  elect  salesmanship  subject  to  approval  of  teacher  in  charge. 


The  programs  might  be  criticised  as  attempting  simulta- 
neously to  prepare  for  several  commercial  occupations.  In 
fact,  three  distinct  commercial  occupations  are  aimed  at  in 
the  programs ;  namely,  bookkeeping,  stenography,  and  sales- 
manship. In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  schools  concerned 
are  general  high  schools  conducted  upon  the  elective  system, 
the  proposed  courses  represent  a  progressive  step.  Sales- 
manship as  a  competing  commercial  opportunity  with  cleri- 
cal callings  has  not,  in  the  pupil's  mind,  at  least,  fully  dem- 
onstrated its  value.  There  is  much  excuse  at  the  present 
time  for  the  pupil  to  insure  his  chances  for  a  market  for 
his  talents  by  securing  training  in  more  than  one  outlet  of 
commerce.  Honest  experiment  with  fair  competition  of 
various  commercial  opportunities,  accompanied  by  careful 
tests  of  results,  will  eventually  show  where  vocational  op- 
portunities lie.    The  more  definite  provision  for  the  depart- 


86  Commercial  Education 

mental  organization  of  commercial  courses,  or  sub-school 
plan,  may  likewise  prove  to  be  a  natural  consequence  of 
the  quest  to  attain  more  efficient  results  (page  41). 

SPECIAL  PROBLEMS  IN  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  COMMER- 
CIAL SCHOOLS  AND  COURSES 

Considerable  discussion  has  been  given  of  the  possibility 
of  the  general  high  school  so  organizing  its  resources  that 
effective  courses  in  commercial  education  might  be  the  re- 
sult. As  before  indicated,  the  general  high  school  will  be 
called  upon  for  large  service  in  this  problem  of  improved 
commercial  education.  Many  larger  communities  will 
choose  to  effect  the  same  end  by  the  establishment  of  special 
high  schools  of  commerce.  Already  there  has  been  a  con- 
siderable development  of  the  special  institution  in  our  larger 
cities  (pages  4,  5).  The  special  school  which  begins  de  novo 
has  not  many  of  the  difficulties  to  overcome  that  confront 
the  general  high  school ;  but  even  there  substantial  advance 
and  sound  achievement  will  be  the  result  only  of  extreme 
care,  favoring  conditions,  and  judicial  procedure.  In  the 
first  place,  the  special  schools  usually  become  over-large  and 
are  unwieldy  at  the  start,  before  the  real  vocational  prob- 
lems are  comprehended.  Effort  and  attention  are  centered 
upon  the  mere  problem  of  housing  pupils,  of  making  essen- 
tial provisions  for  securing  teachers,  and  of  furnishing 
supplies. 

The  matter  of  finding  competent  teachers  has  many  real 
difficulties.  Available  candidates  with  satisfactory  experi- 
ence invariably  must  be  found  in  other  high  schools  of  dif- 
ferent character  and  purpose.  Very  few  normal  schools  or 
higher  schools  of  education  are  training  special  teachers  for 
commercial  schools.  The  special  school  will  be  obliged  to 
give  its  teachers  a  new  point  of  view  if  it  is  to  achieve  an 
adequate  realization  of  its  purpose.  Communities  are  prone 
to  mistake  a  fine  building  with  a  pretentious  name  for  an 
educational  idea.    We  have  made  the  error  in  this  country 


Constructive  Proposals  87 

of  trying  to  create  our  special  schools  in  ready-made  fash- 
ion. We  first  construct  an  elaborate  building  to  gratify 
local  pride  by  appeals  to  the  eye;  we  select  our  teachers 
from  the  local  corps  with  no  adequate  notion  of  fitness  for 
special  work ;  and  we  transfer  our  pupils  to  the  new  build- 
ing en  masse  without  careful  selection  on  the  basis  of  voca- 
tional fitness.  We  Americans  believe  in  "  going  concerns  " 
at  the  start,  whether  our  projects  be  educational,  social,  or 
industrial;  we  are  too  impatient  to  wait  for  experimental 
or  evolutionary  processes  to  show  us  the  valuable  types  from 
which  to  choose  and  subsequently  to  expand.  We  believe 
that  bigness  is  success,  that  smallness  is  failure.  This  men- 
tal viewpoint  is  the  cause  of  much  waste  and  disastrous 
change  in  our  educational  policies.  The  time-honored  adage 
that  "  haste  makes  waste  "  has  not  given  us  caution  in  edu- 
cational enterprises. 

A  community  seeking  to  establish  an  effective  special 
commercial  school  will  do  well  to  begin  modestly.  First 
and  foremost,  a  principal  should  be  selected  who  possesses 
knowledge  of  the  special  problem,  broad  sympathies,  and 
qualities  of  leadership.  Heads  of  departments  who  are  effec- 
tive executives  with  the  power  of  interpreting  significant 
needs,  demands,  and  conditions  of  business  should  then  be 
chosen,  and  teachers  of  training  and  adaptability  should  be 
added  to  constitute  a  minimum  beginning  organization.  A 
fine  building,  an  expensive  equipment,  a  large  number  of 
pupils,  may  easily  create  an  initial  condition  which  has  in 
it  far  more  of  danger  than  of  promise.  Having  established 
the  new  school  on  the  basis  of  a  minimum  working  force 
and  equipment,  it  will  next  be  highly  important  for  those 
commissioned  to  carry  on  the  work  to  study  the  problem  of 
trying  to  make  the  special  school  meet  effectively  the  objec- 
tive demands  of  business. 

The  expansion  of  a  useful  type  of  school  is  a  compara- 
tively simple  matter,  but  the  useful  type  is  difficult  to  find. 
If  the  expansion  is  not  too  rapid,  teachers  may  be  selected 
on  the  basis  of  special  fitness  for  the  particular  problem  at- 


88  Commercial  Education 

tempted.  There  is  always  danger  of  too  rapid  growth, 
where  usually  the  effort  of  all  concerned  becomes  centered  on 
mere  housing.  In  many  of  our  large  cities,  the  school  au- 
thorities are  triumphant  over  the  fact  that  a  seat  has  been 
found  for  every  high  school  pupil  who  has  applied  for  ac- 
commodations;  conditions  for  effective  work  are  often- 
times not  seriously  considered.  The  special  commercial 
school  may  attract  hordes  of  children  who  are  appealed  to 
by  the  mere  novelty  of  the  name  or  by  the  publicity  which 
new  school  ventures  secure  from  the  press.  It  would  be  a 
useful  experiment  for  our  large  cities  to  found  a  model 
high  school,  as  is  done  often  in  the  case  of  elementary 
schools,  where  young  teachers  in  training  may  have  fruitful 
conditions  of  practice,  and  where  teachers  in  other  high 
schools  may  visit  to  see  work  of  superior  merit  in  operation. 
The  special  commercial  high  school,  or  the  specialized 
department  of  commercial  training  of  a  general  high  school, 
is  confronted  today  with  the  choice  of  one  of  two  divergent 
educational  principles.  These  issues  were  presented  in  sharp 
contrast  at  the  19 14  meeting  of  the  National  Educational 
Association  Superintendents'  Convention  at  Richmond.^ 
Our  public  school  systems,  in  embarking  upon  the  policy  of 
expansion  to  include  training  for  industrial  and  commercial 
vocations,  will  not  achieve  immediate  and  effective  results 
unless  fundamental  differences  between  liberal  and  voca- 
tional education  are  recognized.  Liberal  education  enables 
us  to  appreciate  and  consume,  while  vocational  education 
aims  to  train  primarily  effective  producers.  The  two  forms 
of  education  may  be  attempted  simultaneously,  but  neither 
will  be  largely  effective  unless  the  function  of  each  is  kept 
distinct  in  the  minds  of  teacher  and  pupil.  The  compara- 
tively slight  modifications  of  general  high  schools  to  effect 
what  is  called  a  general  vocational  education  will  not  succeed 
in  meeting  the  social  and  vocational  needs  of  pupils.  In- 
deed, these  modifications  may  cause  harm,  because  the  real 

*  In  the  papers  presented  by  David  Snedden,  Commissioner  of  Education, 
Massachusetts,  and  by  W.  C.  Bagley,  University  of  Illinois. 


Constructive  Proposals  89 

liberal  features  of  the  course  may  be  disturbed  with  no 
compensating  advantage  in  the  way  of  specific  vocational 
preparation.  There  do  not  exist  today,  among  the  occupa- 
tions which  the  pupils  enter,  callings  that  may  be  termed 
general  occupations;  hence  a  general  vocational  training 
aims  at  nothing  which  has  an  objective  reality. 

A  better  and  surer  plan  of  guaranteeing  worthy  liberal 
and  vocational  education  may  be  to  attempt  them  succes- 
sively. None  will  dispute  the  value  of  the  ideal  of  founding 
every  individual's  education  upon  as  liberal  a  basis  as  pos- 
sible; but,  in  addition,  our  present  need  is  to  equip  our 
future  citizens  with  a  vocational  training  to  enable  them  to 
attain  effective  and  satisfying  participation  in  the  various 
life  vocations.  Our  effective  medical  and  law  schools  de- 
mand for  entrance  a  broad  background  of  liberal  training, 
but  they  confine  their  own  instruction  to  strictly  vocational 
work.  The  period  at  which  actual  vocational  work  should 
begin  depends  primarily  upon  the  individual.  The  mental 
capacities,  the  economic  circumstances,  the  social  environ- 
ment, will  cause  some  to  seek  vocational  education  as  early 
as  fourteen,  and  others  as  late  as  twenty-one  or  twenty-two. 
At  whatever  age  the  individual  presents  himself  for  voca- 
tional training,  he  must  meet  primarily  the  methods,  en- 
vironment, and  procedure  of  the  vocation  sought.  The 
period  of  liberal  training  is  over  when  he  commits  himself 
to  vocational  training,  or  as  long  as  he  follows  that  path.^ 

The  above  position,  strictly  interpreted,  is  probably  too 
radical  for  immediate  adoption  as  a  widespread  educational 
policy.  The  chief  objection  to  it  is  the  restriction  of  free- 
dom to  the  individual.  As  a  nation,  we  believe  in  freedom 
to  change  our  life  plans  if  opportunity  and  inclination 
prompt  us  to  do  so.  For  immediate  purposes  we  are  con- 
cerned in  discussing  effective  plans  for  improved  commer- 
cial education.  As  before  indicated  (page  19),  commercial 
education  for  purely  vocational  purposes  demands  more  of 

^  This  position  presents  broadly  the  position  taken  at  the  Richmond  meeting 
by  Dr.  David  Snedden  (page  88),  with  whom  the  author  agrees. 


90  Commercial  Education 

liberal  culture  than  other  vocations  attempted  in  the  second- 
ary school  period.  But  every  commercial  course,  whether 
that  of  one  year's  duration  or  that  of  four,  should  have  an 
intensified  period,  immediately  before  the  student  expects 
to  go  into  commerce,  where  the  aim,  methods,  and  experi- 
ences are  primarily,  and  perhaps  almost  exclusively,  those 
of  the  business  environment  into  which  the  student  will 
shortly  be  sent.  Where  students  may  look  forward  to  four 
years  of  secondary  instruction  as  preparatory  to  entering 
business,  the  first  year  might  be  primarily  liberal,  the  second 
and  third  years  primarily  pre-vocational,  and  the  fourth 
year  primarily,  or  preferably  wholly,  vocational.^  For  those 
who  drop  out  of  the  course  through  accident  or  choice,  the 
continuation  school  or  evening  school  should  give  the  op- 
portunity for  intensified  vocational  work  which  was  lost  by 
early  leaving.  The  shorter  term  commercial  courses  may 
be  arranged  with  the  same  relative  proportions  of  liberal 
and  vocational  studies  indicated  in  the  case  of  the  four- 
years  course.  Investigations  presented  in  Chapter  IV  in- 
dicate that  business  success  as  measured  by  earning  capacity 
bears  a  very  direct  relation  to  total  years  of  schooling 
(pages  56,  57).  There  has  been  a  general  assumption 
among  educators  that  a  similar  relation  is  found  throughout 
all  vocations;  but  investigations  into  industrial  occupations 
fail  to  justify  the  assumption.^  It  seems  probable  from 
present  evidence  that  short  commercial  courses,  such  as 
those  of  one  or  of  two  years  at  the  close  of  the  elementary 
school  period,  will  fit  immediately  for  no  very  promising 
commercial  occupations.  These  courses  are  very  much 
worth  while,  however,  if  the  individuals  who  have  taken 
them  after  entering  business  in  the  minor  capacities  open 
to  them,  supplement  their  education  by  work  in  continuation 
or  evening  schools.  The  short  term  business  courses  are 
justified  for  those  who,  for  limiting  reasons,  are  unable  to 

*  See  New  York  Report,  page  140. 

2  Vocations  for  Women.     Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union, 
Boston. 


Constructive  Proposals  91 

pursue  longer  courses;  but  sound  vocational  advice  given 
to  those  who  pursue  them  should  point  out  the  need  of  sup- 
plementary education,  which  is  manifestly  essential  for 
those  who  would  rise  to  important  positions  and  probably 
also  for  those  who  wish  to  look  forward  to  even  satisfac- 
tory wage  conditions  in  business  occupations. 

COURSES    IN    THE   BOSTON    CLERICAL   SCHOOL 

The  plan  designed  for  a  new  clerical  school  to  be  opened 
in  Boston  in  September,  19 14,  embodies  the  principles  rec- 
ommended with  regard  to  the  distinction  between  liberal 
and  vocational  training,  as  well  as  other  procedure  com- 
mended as  proper  in  the  creation  of  special  commercial 
schools.  This  special  school  is  designed  to  round  out  a  sys- 
tem of  commercial  education  which  already  comprises  com- 
mercial courses  for  boys  and  girls  in  general  high  schools 
and  a  special  high  school  of  commerce  for  boys.  The  new 
school  will  serve  primarily  the  needs  of  girls,  by  offering 
specialized  and  intensified  training  in  clerical  vocations. 
Three  courses  will  be  offered:  first,  a  course  for  office 
service  which  will  be  available  for  girls  who  have  success- 
fully completed  two  years  of  high  school  work,  not  neces- 
sarily commercial  in  character ;  second,  a  course  for  stenog- 
raphers and  high  grade  clerks,  available  for  girls  who  have 
successfully  completed  three  years  of  high  school  work, 
without  designation  of  kind;  third,  a  course  for  book- 
keepers and  accountants,  and  a  course  for  secretaries,  who 
must  be  either  high  school  or  college  graduates.  The  last 
course  will  be  offered  to  both  young  men  and  women.  The 
clerical  school  will  attempt  no  liberal  training  whatsoever. 
The  applicants  for  the  various  courses  will  come  with  an 
academic  equipment  which  presumably  constitutes  the  essen- 
tial elements  of  general  education  necessary  for  successful 
entrance  into  the  specialized  work  in  the  vocation  sought. 
No  specified  length  of  time  for  the  course  will  be  assigned ; 
some   students   with   preliminary   commercial   training   in 


92  Commercial  Education 

other  schools  may  be  expected  to  complete  the  work  in  half 
a  year;  others  of  slower  rate  of  achievement  may  take  a 
year  or  even  longer.  The  methods  to  be  used  are  designed 
to  be  primarily  individual,  while  the  standards  of  achieve- 
ment are  designed  to  prepare  for  successful  entrance  into 
the  specialized  commercial  occupations  aimed  at. 

Following  are  the  unit  courses  of  study  proposed  for  the 
clerical  high  school  of  Boston. 

''  Course  Preparing  for  Office  Service 

"  This  course  is  available  for  girls  who  have  completed 
two  years  of  high  school  work,  and  consists  of  the  fol- 
lowing subjects:  bookkeeping,  office  practice,  commer- 
cial arithmetic,  commercial  law,  penmanship,  and  busi- 
ness English. 

"  Course  Preparing  for  Stenographic  and  Higher 
Clerical  Work 

"  This  course  is  available  for  girls  who  have  completed 
three  years  of  high  school  work,  and  consists  of  the  fol- 
lowing subjects:  shorthand,  typewriting,  penmanship, 
business  arithmetic,  English,  bookkeeping,  political 
geography,  and  office  practice. 

'*"  Course  Preparing  for  Secretarial  Work  and 
Bookkeeping  ^ 

"  This  course  is  available  for  young  men  and  women 
who  are  high  school  graduates  ^  and  consists  of  the 
following  subjects:  a  (for  secretaries),  stenography, 
typewriting,  business  correspondence,  office  practice, 
commercial  procedure;  b  (for  bookkeepers),  bookkeep- 
ing, use  of  office  machinery,  filing  devices,  commercial 
arithmetic,  commercial  law. 

^  Not  given  during  the  year  1914-1915. 

'  College  graduates  may  be  admitted  upon  special  action  of  the  School 
Committee. 


Constructive  Proposals  93 

"  Stuaents  in  each  of  the  above  courses  are  advanced 
as  rapidly  as  their  progress  will  permit,  and  they  are 
given  certificates  when  they  have  satisfactorily  com- 
pleted the  courses  without  regard  to  the  length  of  time 
required  for  completion." 

In  closing  this  chapter  on  constructive  suggestions  re- 
garding the  improvement  of  commercial  education  of  second- 
ary grade,  I  wish  to  emphasize  the  need  of  a  tolerant  and 
inquiring  attitude  on  the  part  of  educators  engaged  in  con- 
ducting or  establishing  commercial  schools.  As  an  instance 
of  a  progressive  and  receptive  attitude  on  the  part  of  com- 
mercial teachers  may  be  adduced  the  procedure  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts State  Committee  on  Business  Education  at  its  first 
meeting  on  June  14,  19 13,  best  illustrated  by  the  following 
resolution,  which  was  unanimously  adopted  and  assigned  to 
a  committee  for  appropriate  action : 

"  It  is  the  sense  of  this  meeting  that  commercial 
courses  should  be  founded  primarily  upon  the  basis  of 
business  needs,  as  far  as  such  needs  are  discernible. 
This  committee  seeks  the  facts  concerning  those  business 
needs  which  affect  commercial  education,  and  welcomes 
opinions  of  business  bodies,  and  wishes  to  encourage 
all  investigations  that  may  shed  light  upon  this  impor- 
tant matter." 

Much  of  the  evidence  concerning  business  needs  appear- 
ing in  this  volume  was  secured  from  investigations  inspired 
by  and  resulting  from  the  quoted  resolution.^ 

Much  other  and  more  searching  investigation  in  different 
sections  of  the  country  will  be  necessary  before  it  can  be 
said  that  we  have  any  adequate  fact  basis  for  certain  and 
stable  commercial  courses.  It  is  highly  desirable  that  each 
community  undertake  an  inquiry  for  itself.  There  may  be 
found  generally  much  uniformity  of  commercial  and  school 

*  Chapter  IV  contains  a  review  of  three  investigations. 


94  Commercial  Education 

conditions,  but  always  will  there  be  discoverable  local  situ- 
ations which  will  modify  in  some  degree  the  particular  plans 
suitable  for  the  individual  community.  The  closer  associ- 
ation of  business  men  and  commercial  teachers  will  be  im- 
portant in  effecting  cooperation  and  mutual  understanding. 
Borrowing  a  ready-made  plan  from  some  community  with 
acquired  prestige  in  commercial  education  has  many  objec- 
tions. Usually  the  plan  itself  is  never  fully  understood,  and 
consequently  only  partially  effective;  there  is  also  loss  of 
the  enthusiasm  which  self -achievement  brings:  we  encour- 
age self-activity  and  personal  achievement  in  our  pupils; 
these  same  virtues  are  no  less  important  to  grown-ups, 
whether  business  men  or  teachers.  Finally,  it  is  the  spirit 
in  which  the  problem  of  improved  commercial  education  is 
considered  that  is  significant.  More  and  more  we  are  com- 
ing to  see  that  the  solution  of  all  the  vital  problems  involved 
in  the  quest  and  realization  of  better  democracy  must  be 
attempted  in  the  spirit  of  cooperation,  of  justice,  and  of 
toleration.  In  aspiring  to  a  higher  conception  of  democracy, 
society  has  placed  its  chief  hope  in  the  schools ;  consequently 
in  the  spirit  with  which  the  school  attempts  the  solution  of 
its  own  problems  will  our  democracy  expect  to  find  example, 
inspiration,  and  progressive  achievement. 


CHAPTER   VI 

COMMERCIAL  HIGH   SCHOOLS  AND  COMMER- 
CIAL COURSES   IN   HIGH   SCHOOLS^ 

Section  I 

SCOPE   AND   AIMS   OF   THE   REPORT 

THE  scope  of  this  report  comprises  a  description  of  com- 
mercial education  in  the  city  high  schools ;  an  analysis 
and  summary  of  existing  conditions ;  and  certain  constructive 
recommendations.  In  the  third  section,  devoted  chiefly  to 
recommendations,  will  appear  most  prominently  the  aim  of 
this  particular  investigation,  viz.,  a  suggestive  program  of 
procedure  toward  more  efficient  means  and  methods  of  com- 
mercial education. 

HIGH    SCHOOLS    MAINTAINING   COMMERCIAL   COURSES 

Of  the  twenty  high  schools  (in  1911-1912)  maintained 
by  the  Board  of  Education,  thirteen  offer  commercial 
courses.  Two  high  schools  for  boys  —  the  High  School  of 
Commerce,  Manhattan,  and  the  Commercial  High  School, 
Brooklyn  —  devote  exclusive  attention  to  commercial 
instruction. 

The  eleven  other  schools,  known  as  general  high  schools, 
offer  elective  commercial  courses,  and  about  forty  per  cent 
of  the  pupils  are  found  in  these  courses.  In  view  of  the  fact 
that  there  are  special  commercial  schools  for  boys  and  none 
for  girls,  it  is  not  surprising  that  in  the  general  high  schools 

1  This  chapter  consists  of  Mr.  Thompson's  report  on  the  field  assigned 
to  him  in  the  New  York  City  School  Inquiry,  1911-12,  and  is  reprinted  here 
with  no  changes  in  the  subject  matter.  —  Editor. 

95 


96  Commercial  Education 

the  ratio  of  boys  to  girls  is  one  to  fiYQ.    In  the  city  at  large 
the  sexes  elect  the  work  in  practically  equal  proportions.^ 

The  geographical  distribution  of  schools  with  respect  to 
residential  needs  is  deserving  of  commendation.  Manhat- 
tan has  a  High  School  of  Commerce  for  boys  and  a  com- 
mercial course  for  girls  in  the  Washington  Irving  High 
School.  The  Bronx  has  a  general  high  school  with  an  elec- 
tive commercial  course  for  boys  and  girls.  Richmond  has 
a  general  high  school  with  a  commercial  course  for  boys 
and  girls.  Brooklyn  has  a  special  school  for  boys  (Com- 
mercial High  School),  and  a  commercial  course  for  girls 
in  the  Eastern  District  High  School,  and  in  addition  Bush- 
wick  High  School  offers  courses  for  both  boys  and  girls. 
In  Queens  there  are  six  general  high  schools  offering  com- 
mercial courses  for  both  boys  and  girls.  No  restriction  in 
selecting  high  schools  is  placed  on  pupils,  who  may  attend 
schools  outside  their  residential  districts.  Of  the  whole 
high  school  population,  approximately  one  third  are  enrolled 
as  commercial  pupils. 

COURSES   OF   STUDY 

A  general  survey  of  courses  offered  in  the  city  high 
schools,  both  general  and  special,  reveals  the  following 
facts : 

General  high  schools  usually  offer  three-year  commercial 
courses,  though  there  are  two  exceptions  —  Curtis,  which 
has  a  four-year  course,  and  Bryant,  which  differentiates  and 
offers  a  four-year  course  for  boys  and  a  three-year  course 
for  girls.  The  High  School  of  Commerce  has  a  four-year 
course,  while  the  Commercial  High  School  of  Brooklyn 
maintains  a  dual  offering  of  a  three-year  course  and  a  four- 
year  course. 

The  courses  in  general  high  schools  are  largely  clerical  in 
nature  —  bookkeeping,  business  arithmetic,  stenography, 
and  typewriting,  courses  which  have  traditionally  been  as- 
*  Dr.  J.  J.  Shepard,  Chamber  of  Commerce  Bulletin,  March,  191 2. 


Commercial  High  Schools  97 

sumed  to  constitute  the  chief  elements  of  commercial  train- 
ing. In  the  two  boys'  high  schools  (High  School  of  Com- 
merce, Manhattan,  and  Commercial  High  School,  Brooklyn) 
these  same  subjects  appear  largely,  though  there  is  added 
work  in  commercial  sciences,  in  commercial  foreign  lan- 
guages, and  in  economic  subjects.  In  all  the  schools  a 
certain  measure  of  "  liberal "  training  accompanies  spe- 
cialized work,  a  foreign  language  being  a  general  require- 
ment. Specialized  work  is  preponderant  in  the  three-year 
courses  of  the  general  schools,  and  "  liberal "  subjects  are 
found  in  greater  proportion  in  the  special  schools. 

CHARACTER   OF   PUPILS 

The  character  of  pupils,  social,  economic,  and  intellectual, 
may  profitably  be  mentioned  in  this  general  survey  of  the 
subject.  The  usual  testimony  of  the  principals  of  general 
high  schools  is  to  the  effect  that  commercial  pupils  consti- 
tute the  less  desirable  element  of  the  school.  "  Pupils  elect- 
ing the  commercial  course  are  of  inferior  intellectual 
power."  "  Doubtful  if  pupils  are  of  as  good  mental  ability 
as  those  of  other  courses."  '*  Less  serious  and  sturdy  char- 
acter." "  Students  in  commercial  course  inferior  in  ethical 
standing,  inferior  intellectually  and  socially."  "  They  are 
not  so  good  mentally.  Many  choose  the  commercial  course 
because  they  think  it  is  easy  and  because  they  had  trouble 
in  getting  through  the  grammar  school."  "  Character 
slightly  below."  Conditions  seem  to  be  better  in  the  two 
special  high  schools  for  boys,  and  in  one  general  high  school 
for  girls.  In  this  last  school  the  principal  reports  that  com- 
mercial girls  are  brighter  and  more  intelligent  than  aca- 
demic girls. 

PERSISTENCE   OF    PUPILS 

The  persistence  in  membership  of  commercial  pupils 
seems  to  be  markedly  lower  than  the  average.  The  average 
loss  of  membership  for  the  city  for  the  past  five-year  period 
is  thirty-one  per  cent  annually.    The  High  School  of  Com- 


gS  Commercial  Education 

merce  in  the  last  seven  years  has  lost  an  average  of  36.7 
per  cent ;  the  Commercial  High  School  of  Brooklyn,  forty- 
one  per  cent  for  the  years  1909-19 10.  Every  school  reports 
a  larger  percentage  of  loss  of  commercial  pupils  than  the  city 
average  or  the  school  average.  The  Washington  Irving 
High  School  reports  the  highest  percentage  of  membership, 
where  forty-six  per  cent  of  commercial  girls  persisted  until 
the  third  year,  against  forty-seven  per  cent  of  girls  pursuing 
academic  work. 

One  apparent  reason  for  greater  loss  of  membership  is 
the  character  of  the  pupils  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  par- 
agraphs. Principals  assign  various  other  reasons :  **  At- 
tractive openings  come  to  them  long  before  the  course  is 
completed ;  so  long  as  business  men  are  content  to  employ 
young  people  only  partly  prepared,  so  long  will  the  schools 
have  difficulty  in  holding  their  pupils  to  the  end  of  the 
course."  "  Many  elect  commercial  courses  who  do  not  ex- 
pect to  remain  long."  "  Pupils  who  cannot  stay  in  school 
long  take  the  commercial  course."  A  noticeable  feature 
is  the  fact  that  boys  are  less  persistent  in  all  schools  than 
girls.  A  suggestive  reason  for  this  is  found  in  the  testi- 
mony of  one  principal,  who  says  that  a  boy  can  get  a  job 
because  he  is  a  boy,  but  a  girl  must  possess  training.  Fre- 
quently a  family  close  to  the  economic  line  of  necessity  will 
call  upon  the  boy  to  make  the  sacrifice  of  schooling.  In  all 
high  schools  the  total  number  of  boys  and  girls  entering  is 
nearly  equal;  the  number  graduating  in  191 1  shows  about 
two  girls  for  every  boy.^  The  "  mortality  "  among  boys  in 
New  York  City  high  schools  is  apparently  twice  that  of 
girls,  and  the  "  mortality  "  of  boys  in  commercial  courses 
is  greater  than  that  in  other  courses. 

HOW    PUPILS    CHOOSE    COMMERCIAL   COURSES 

Investigation  showed  that  boys  and  girls  select  the  com- 
mercial course  as  follows :   The  greater  proportion  of  pupils 

*  Annual  Report  of  City  Superintendent,  191 1,  page  98. 


Commercial  High  Schools  99 

make  the  selection  the  final  term  of  the  elementary  school. 
Circulars  describing  the  offerings  of  high  schools  are  dis- 
tributed. The  principals  and  graduating  class  teachers  dis- 
cuss with  the  pupils  the  significance  of  the  printed  data,  and 
the  children  take  the  circular  home  for  the  signature  of  the 
parents.  High  school  principals  report  that  some  elemen- 
tary school  principals  call  meetings  of  the  parents  for  dis- 
cussion and  conference.  High  school  principals  feel  that 
they  have  little  influence  on  or  control  over  the  selection  of 
courses.  In  one  high  school  (Washington  Irving  High) 
the  course  of  study  delays  for  one  year  the  beginning  of 
specialized  subjects.  During  this  period  the  child  is  sub- 
jected to  a  trying-out  process ;  study  of  the  tastes  and  apti- 
tudes is  made  by  teachers,  and  the  kind  of  choice  is  influ- 
enced by  this  process.  Another  principal  of  a  mixed  high 
school  (Bush wick)  gives  particular  attention  to  the  question 
of  a  proper  choice  made  in  the  elementary  school. 

High  school  principals  in  the  main  believe  that  there  are 
shortcomings  in  the  character  of  the  guidance  given  to 
pupils.  "  Little  attention  is  given  to  vocational  guidance. 
Pupils  ought  to  select  after  one  or  two  years  in  the  high 
school.  Individual  tendencies  could  then  be  determined." 
Principals  state  that  pupils  are  unconsciously  sorted  into 
groups  with  respect  to  mental  ability.  In  Manhattan  and 
The  Bronx  the  pupils  of  best  mental  attainments  are  said 
to  go  to  Townsend-Harris  Hall,  connected  with  the  College 
of  the  City  of  New  York.  Further,  the  testimony  of  prin- 
cipals is  that  the  brighter  pupils  take  academic  work,  with 
Latin  as  a  major ;  that  the  next  in  mental  grade  take  gen- 
eral work  with  modern  languages,  and  that  those  remaining 
take  commercial  subjects.  There  is  discoverable  no  care- 
fully organized  effort,  such  as  is  found  in  several  American 
cities,^  to  give  vocational  guidance  in  the  elementary  school, 
so  that  pupils  are  directed  to  the  course  most  suited  to  their 
abilities  and  subsequent  needs.  One  principal  reports  im- 
provement in  these  conditions :  "  A  better  quality  of  stu- 
1  Boston  has  a  well-developed  plan  of  vocational  guidance. 


lOO  Commercial  Education 

dents  are  selecting  the  course.  Time  was  when  the  com- 
mercial department  was  looked  upon  as  a  suitable  place  for 
students  unfitted  to  do  the  hard  w^ork  of  the  regular  course. 
Today  an  increasing  number  of  bright,  well-qualified  young 
people  are  definitely  choosing  the  commercial  course." 

TEACHERS    OF    COMMERCIAL   SUBJECTS 

i  Teachers  of  commercial  subjects  in  all  high  schools  come 
into  the  service  by  qualifying  by  examination  upon  one  of 
two  merit  lists,  known  respectively  as  the  Stenography  and 
Typewriting  list,  and  the  Commercial  Subjects  list,  j  By 
commercial  subjects  are  understood  chiefly  those  clerical 
in  nature.  The  general  requirements  of  experience  are 
somewhat  similar  to  those  of  other  candidates;  there  is, 
however,  the  provision  that  business  experience  may  be 
counted  year  for  year  (not  exceeding  five  years)  for  the 
required  experience  of  all  teachers.  A  commercial  teacher 
is,  consequently,  one  who  instructs  in  some  clerical  art,  such 
as  bookkeeping,  stenography,  or  typewriting.  It  may  be 
pointed  out  here,  though  more  specifically  treated  in  the 
third  section  of  this  report,  that  the  present  system  makes 
no  provision  for  securing  teachers  to  instruct  in  commercial 
English,  commercial  modern  languages,  or  in  subjects  deal- 
ing with  fundamental  commercial  sciences,  such  as  eco- 
nomics or  business  organization.  The  requirements  for 
commercial  teachers,  under  the  limitations  noted,  are  well 
suited  to  secure  efficient  and  trained  teachers. 

Inspection  of  the  work  of  commercial  teachers  showed  a 
general  good  level  of  achievement.  Some  complaint  was 
made  that  under  the  requirements  elementary  school 
teachers  may  acquire  a  knowledge  of  a  system  of  stenog- 
raphy, secure  a  license  in  stenography  and  typewriting,  and 
become  commercial  teachers  without  adequate  practical  ex- 
perience. In  such  a  special  school  as  the  Commercial  High 
School  of  Brooklyn  the  large  majority  of  the  teachers  have 
had  no  training  in  business  or  in  business  methods.     They 


Commercial  Hi^h  Schools:    -  :  >. :  -  ioi 

♦  .'.-....  ^  .     '    '  ' '    ^  r   ' 

have  come  from  the  general  lists,  and  have  been  assigned 
to  their  present  position  because  of  the  system  which  de- 
mands that  eligible  candidates  shall  be  chosen  in  the  order 
of  their  rating,  and  from  requirements  which  seek  to  secure 
teachers  for  other  types  of  high  schools.  It  is  consequently 
not  surprising  to  find  in  special  schools  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  teachers  who  have  no  other  sympathies  and  use  no 
other  methods  except  those  characteristic  of  a  classical  or 
academic  high  school.  The  vocational  stimulus  cannot  fail 
to  lose  force  in  a  special  school  where  the  largest  influence 
comes  from  teachers  who  are  not  themselves  imbued  with 
the  aims  for  which  the  school  really  stands. 

A  study  of  the  teaching  assignments  of  commercial 
teachers  shows  a  proportionately  larger  number  of  teaching 
periods  than  the  average. 

regents'  examinations 

Commercial  as  well  as  academic  work  is  standardized  by 
state  syllabi  and  tested  by  the  regents'  examinations.  This 
system  tends  to  produce  a  certain  degree  of  uniformity  of 
subject  matter  and  achievement.  All  the  high  schools  ex- 
cept the  High  School  of  Commerce  report  adherence  to 
the  state  syllabi  and  regents'  examinations.  The  High 
School  of  Commerce  takes  the  regents'  tests  in  stenography 
and  typewriting;  for  all  other  subjects  local  examinations, 
approved  by  the  Board  of  Superintendents,  are  employed. 

The  regents'  examinations  make  no  provision  for  "  aca- 
demic "  subjects  related  to  commercial  training,  except  one 
course  called  Commercial  English  and  Correspondence. 
This  course  is  designed  to  be  given  "  in  the  last  year  of  the 
course,  when  the  pupil  has  had  training  in  English  compo- 
sition and  literature."  ^  It  forms  hardly  a  complete  course 
in  itself,  but  constitutes  a  supplementary  part  of  a  separate 
English  course  pursued  simultaneously.  Sometimes  an  ad- 
ditional two  periods  a  week  are  assigned  and  a  teacher  in 

*  State  Syllabus,  1910,  page  359. 


lo?  Commercial  Education 

the  commercial  department  gives  the  instruction.  Com- 
mercial pupils  are  not  usually  required  to  take  this  special 
English  course  to  secure  diplomas.  The  majority  of  general 
high  schools  maintaining  commercial  courses  do  not  even 
offer  it. 

RELATION   OF   ACADEMIC   TO   VOCATIONAL   WORK 

It  is  a  fair  statement  to  say  that  commercial  students  get 
but  little  related  academic  work.  The  English  courses  of 
three-year  commercial  pupils  are  uniformly  those  of  aca- 
demic or  college  preparatory  character,  and,  seemingly  with- 
out any  reason,  these  courses  are  incomplete  in  themselves, 
since  they  constitute  but  three  quarters  of  a  course  designed 
for  four-year  pupils.  The  mathematics,  modern  languages, 
and  science  are  those  designed  to  meet  regent  requirements, 
which  in  turn  are  planned  to  meet  the  traditional  academic 
or  college  entrance  requirements. 

The  individual  plan  of  the  High  School  of  Commerce 
and,  to  a  less  degree,  of  the  Commercial  High  School  of 
Brooklyn  (which  reports  using  regents'  examinations  wher- 
ever possible),  shows  a  praiseworthy  effort  to  make  all  the 
school  subjects  reflect  the  vocational  purpose  of  the  school. 
Several  other  schools  are  attempting  better  to  adapt  the 
general  ("  academic  ")  subjects  to  the  needs  of  commercial 
pupils,  but  the  state  system  of  requirements  ^  makes  such 
attempts  diflicult  and  usually  ineffective.  The  significance 
of  this  state  of  affairs  will  be  more  fully  discussed  in  a  later 
section  of  this  report. 

COMMERCIAL   LABORATORIES   AND   OFFICE   EQUIPMENT 

A  commercial  school  necessarily  has  a  laboratory  with 
devices  and  equipment  where  the  practice  of  clerical  arts  is 
carried  on.  This  usually  consists  of  rooms  with  typewriters, 
rooms  fitted  with  bookkeeping  desks,  and  places  where 
model  banks  and  filing  cases  are  found.  In  most  instances 
*  Regents'  examinations. 


Commercial  High  Schools  103 

these  appurtenances  are  adequate,  though  often  used  by 
noticeably  large  divisions  of  pupils.  No  shortage  of  com- 
mercial material  is  reported.  There  are  often  found  too 
many  pupils  for  the  typewriters,  though  here  the  difficulty 
is  lack  of  class  room,  not  the  disinclination  of  the  authorities 
to  furnish  machines.  The  practice  of  having  a  commercial 
museum  showing  commercial  processes  and  products  has 
hardly  begun.  The  High  School  of  Commerce  has  the  be- 
ginning of  a  museum  which  promises  in  time  to  develop  in 
extent  and  adequacy.  There  is,  with  the  present  accommo- 
dations, little  room  for  the  expansion  of  the  project. 

Practice  work  connected  with  clerical  subjects  is  notice- 
ably intelligent  and  effective.  Practical  work  of  the  stand- 
ard required  in  business  offices  is  approximated  in  a  degree 
commensurate  with  the  limitations  of  the  number  of  pupils, 
space,  and  equipment.  Most  teachers  showed  that  they 
possess  the  requisite  knowledge,  which  they  are  able  to 
impart,  concerning  matters  of  business  (clerical)  technique. 
In  some  schools  an  exception  to  this  statement  was  noted  in 
the  matter  of  penmanship.  In  the  three-year  courses  pen- 
manship seems  to  be  slighted  in  order  to  secure  more  time 
for  bookkeeping.  One  period  per  week  for  one  term  is 
insufficient  in  the  case  of  the  average  pupil  to  assure 
the  acquisition  of  a  clear,  legible,  and  rapid  style  of 
handwriting. 

PLACEMENT   OF   GRADUATES 

Employment  bureaus  and  follow-up  systems  are  reported 
in  practically  all  schools.  Some  of  these  are  reasonably 
effective.  All  schools  would  like  to  expand  these  agencies ; 
but  lack  of  clerical  assistance  and  lack  of  other  opportunities 
render  expansion  difficult.  As  is  to  be  expected,  the  two 
special  schools  lead  in  these  important  matters.  The  High 
School  of  Commerce  has  a  valuable  scheme  of  following 
up  graduates,  but  it  reports  difficulty  in  keeping  track  of 
many  boys  who  move  away,  leaving  no  addresses.  The 
Commercial  High  School  of  Brooklyn  presents  certain  facts 


I04  Commercial  Education 

concerning  its  employment  bureau,  the  purport  of  which  is 
that  business  houses  are  circularized  at  the  time  of  gradua- 
tion, and  that  last  year,  in  response  to  412  requests  for  help, 
250  boys  were  placed  in  employment.  Suggestive  data  from 
other  schools  may  be  added  to  give  a  notion  of  the  general 
condition.  "  We  have  a  card  index  showing  data  regarding 
all  graduates.  Every  graduate  is  now  profitably  employed 
as  far  as  he  cares  to  be."  "  The  typewriter  company  places 
all  our  pupils."  "  Yes,  being  organized  to  operate  with  the 
work  in  typewriting."  "  Employment  bureau  practically 
abandoned  for  lack  of  help.  No  follow-up  system  for  same 
reason." 

Several  schools  report  cooperation  with  typewriter  com- 
panies in  placing  graduates.  Placement  is  recognizably 
better  in  the  control  of  the  school,  because  cooperation  with 
private  commercial  companies  involves  the  obvious  danger 
of  subordination  of  social  interest  to  private  gain.  It  can- 
not be  assumed  that  a  typewriter  company  is  always  wholly 
disinterested  in  its  efforts  to  find  positions  for  commercial 
pupils. 

APPARENT   AIM    OF    COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION 

What  is  the  current  conception  of  commercial  education  ? 
Some  passing  reference  has  been  made  to  this  matter,  but 
a  more  specific  account  is  desirable  in  order  to  complete 
the  general  description  of  existing  conditions.  The  State 
Syllabus  (1910)^  lists  commercial  subjects  as  follows:  -^ele- 
mentary and  'Advanced  bookkeeping,  Commercial  arithmetic, 
'business  writing, "^commercial  law,  history  of  commerce,^com- 
mercial  English,  and  correspondence,  Shorthand,  and  type- 
writing. Not  all  of  these  subjects  are  required.  The  state 
diploma  in  commercial  subjects  is  given  to  pupils  who  meet 
the  general  requirements  in  English,  science,  mathematics, 
and  history,  and  pass  department  examinations  with  a  grade 
of  not  less  than  seventy-five  per  cent  in  the  following  sub- 
jects :  advanced  bookkeeping  and  ofilice  practice,  commercial 
*  State  Syllabus,  1910,  pages  334,  335. 


Commercial  High  Schools  105 

arithmetic,  commercial  law,  commercial  geography,  com- 
mercial English  and  correspondence,  and  business  writing. 
These  requirements  are  only  for  pupils  pursuing  a  four- 
year  course.  History  of  commerce  is  not  found  in  the 
offerings  of  the  three-year  course  of  the  general  high 
schools.  In  both  the  High  School  of  Commerce  and  in  the 
Commercial  High  School  is  found  the  subject  of  economics, 
and  in  the  former  school  the  history  of  commerce.  In  the 
main,  in  all  schools  the  majority  of  the  commercial  work  is 
clerical.  Facility  in  business  (clerical)  technique  is  the 
major  aim.  The  courses  of  study  are  based  upon  the  as- 
sumption that  efficiency  in  clerical  arts  is  the  major  desider- 
atum in  business  preparation. 

Section  I  has  dealt  with  day  school  conditions  exclusively. 
A  description  of  evening  school  conditions  and  other  forms 
of  supplementary  education  affecting  commercial  training 
will  appear  in  Section  III  in  connection  with  the  general 
body  of  recommendations. 

Section  II 

TESTIMONY   OF    NEW    YORK    CITY    PRINCIPALS    CONCERNING 
THE  AIM   OF  COMMERCIAL  EDUCATION 

In  the  preceding  section  the  attempt  has  been  made  to 
present  in  general  terms  the  most  important  facts  affecting 
the  problem  of  commercial  education.  No  effort  has  been 
made  to  pass  final  judgment  as  to  the  merits  or  shortcomings 
of  the  system.  In  this  second  section  a  more  critical  study 
will  be  made  of  the  most  important  phases  of  the  problem  ; 
but  final  constructive  recommendations  will  be  reserved  for 
the  third  section  of  the  report. 

We  may  appropriately  begin  this  section  with  a  closer 
examination  of  the  aim  of  commercial  education  as  stated 
in  the  preceding  section,  viz.,  the  assumption  that  efficiency 
in  clerical  arts  is  the  major  desideratum  in  business  prepara- 
tion. We  shall  first  present  additional  evidence  that  the 
schools  do  make  that  assumption,  and  as  evidence  shall 


106  Commercial  Education 

quote  from  statements  of  principals :  "  In  our  brief  three- 
year  course  we  are  attempting  to  train  students  immediately 
for  clerical  positions."  "  The  burden  of  the  course  is  de- 
voted to  preparation  for  clerical  work."  "  We  plan  to  have 
our  students  (boys)  equipped  for  what  is  usually  the  first 
step  in  business  —  a  clerical  job  —  but  we  feel  that  a  com- 
mercial school  of  this  type  (four  years)  which  did  not  have 
a  higher  aim  than  that  would  fall  woefully  short  of  its  great 
opportunities."  "  In  the  past  I  fear  that  the  conception  of 
the  work  of  the  school  has  been  somewhat  that  of  a  '  clerk 
factory'"  (boys'  school,  four-year  course).  Particularly 
with  respect  to  boys,  the  principals  do  not  agree  that  the 
clerical  aim  is  the  proper  one.  Subsequently  in  this  section 
of  the  report  it  will  be  shown  that  the  courses  of  study  exalt 
this  aim  even  in  the  special  boys'  schools.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  at  all  respecting  the  aim  of  the  three-year  courses. 

TESTIMONY    OF   BUSINESS    MEN 

The  evidence  of  the  business  world  is  against  the  assump- 
tion that  clerical  training  is  the  main  objective  of  commercial 
education.  Business  men  in  particular  do  not  assert  that 
this  conception  is  sound.  Through  the  courtesy  of  the  New 
York  Chamber  of  Commerce  some  evidence  bearing  upon 
this  point  was  secured  during  February  and  March  of  the 
current  year  (1912).  The  following  circular  letter  was 
sent  to  about  a  hundred  of  the  largest  commercial  houses 
of  New  York  City : 

**  I.  In  the  selection  or  promotion  of  your  employees 
in  any  department  of  your  business,  do  you  set  any 
educational  standards,  such  as  graduation  from  gram- 
mar school,  high  school,  or  college,  as  a  requisite  for 
employment  ? 

"To  what  extent? 

"  2.  Do  you  encourage  employees  to  continue  their 
education,  either  by  attendance  upon  night  schools  or  by 
any  other  means  ? 


Commercial  High  Schools  107 

"  By  what  methods  ? 

"3.  Do  you  perceive  any  defects  in  the  present  busi- 
ness training  given  in  our  high  schools? 
"If  so,  what  defects  are  most  striking? 
"4.  Do  you  advise  the  study  of  foreign  commercial 
languages?  If  so,  please  check  in  the  order  of  impor- 
tance the  following:  German,  French,  Spanish,  Italian, 
Portuguese. 

"  5.  For  a  young  man  entering  your  employ  which  of 
the  enumerated  clerical  subjects  is  it  necessary  to  know 
—  stenography,  typewriting,  bookkeeping  ?  Would  a 
study  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  business,  such  as 
merchandising,  advertising,  salesmanship,  business  or- 
ganization, be  more  valuable  to  young  men  than  special- 
ization in  clerical  subjects  ? 

"  6.  Should  schools  of  commerce  attempt  to  train  for 
particular  types  of  business,  e.g.,  merchandise,  trans- 
portation, banking,  etc.  ? 

"  7.  It  is  manifest  that  to  fulfill  its  best  purposes  com- 
mercial education  should  keep  in  constant  touch  with 
the  business  world  and  advance  with  the  evolution  of 
mercantile  development.  What  methods  can  you  sug- 
gest of  promoting  such  a  relation  between  the  public 
commercial  schools  and  the  business  interests  of  the 
city? 

"  (Comments  at  length  or  suggestions  of  any  nature 
will  be  welcomed. )  " 
The  answers  to  question  five  have  a  particular  bearing  on 
the  point  we  are  now  considering.  On  the  basis  of  fifty 
replies  received  up  to  the  time  of  tabulation,  "  fundamental 
principles  of  business  '*  is  chosen  over  clerical  arts  in  the 
ratio  of  nine  to  one.  This  same  study  was  made  in  Bos- 
ton in  1906,  and  in  Pittsburgh  in  1909,  and  with  somewhat 
similar  results  respecting  the  relative  importance  of  funda- 
mental and  of  clerical  subjects. 

The  following  quotation  is  taken   from  the  report  of 
Edward  Rynearson,  Director  of  High  Schools,  Pittsburgh, 


io8  Commercial  Education 

Pa.,  to  be  found  in  the  May  number  (1910)  of  The  School 
Review.  The  second  part  of  question  five  differs  from  the 
New  York  City  question  as  follows :  "  What  other  lines  of 
training  will  be  more  valuable  as  a  preparation  for  a  business 
career  in  your  house  ?  " 

"  Of  those  replying  thirty-two  per  cent  think  that 
bookkeeping  alone  is  essential;  twenty-eight  per  cent 
state  that  all  three  are  necessary ;  nineteen  per  cent  think 
that  none  of  the  three  subjects  is  essential ;  fifteen  per 
cent  think  that  penmanship  is  essential ;  eleven  per  cent 
think  that  mathematics  is  necessary ;  eleven  per  cent  con- 
sider a  knowledge  of  good  English  indispensable ;  eight 
per  cent  think  that  arithmetic  is  valuable ;  four  per  cent 
state  that  typewriting  and  bookkeeping  are  necessary; 
three  per  cent  think  that  designing  and  advertising  are 
valuable."  ^ 

A  few  quotations  from  typical  replies  from  New  York 
business  men  may  be  added  here :  "  We  employ  no  male 
stenographers.  Occasionally  we  can  use  a  business  school 
graduate  in  our  bookkeeping  department.  The  study  of 
business  principles  ought  to  be  of  value."  "  For  the  ma- 
jority of  positions  in  our  employ  we  should  prefer  that  he 
had  a  knowledge  of  the  other  subjects  named  by  you." 
"  A  knowledge  of  stenography  and  typewriting  would  be 
necessary  in  filling  certain  positions  where  a  male  stenog- 
rapher was  desired.  In  our  particular  business  a  knowledge 
of  bookkeeping  as  it  is  generally  taught  in  high  schools 
might  in  some  cases  be  helpful,  but  hardly  ever  absolutely 
necessary.  A  study  of  the  fundamental  principles,  of  busi- 
ness, such  as  merchandising,  advertising,  salesmanship,  and 
business  organization,  would  in  general  seem  to  be  more 
valuable  to  young  men  than  specialization  upon  clerical 
subjects."  ^ 

1  This  evidence  shows  that  business  men  in  Pittsburgh  do  not  consider 
that  clerical  subjects  are  of  exclusive  importance  in  commercial  preparation. 

2  See  Appendix,  page  167,  Letters  of  New  York  Business  Men. 


Commercial  High  Schools  109 

FIGURES    FROM    THE   PERMANENT    CENSUS   BOARD 

As  a  second  and  different  kind  of  evidence,  we  present 
the  following: 

At  the  time  of  preparing  this  report  (April,  191 2)  Mr. 
George  H.  Chatfield,  Secretary  of  the  Permanent  Census 
Board,  had  prepared  a  report  covering  the  occupations  of 
66,617  boys  and  65,191  girls  in  New  York  City  between  the 
ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen.  As  stenographers  and  type- 
writers were  found  586  boys  and  3244  girls;  as  book- 
keepers, 824  boys  and  1364  girls;  errand  boys  and  girls  fall 
into  the  proportion  of  12,529  boys  and  1204  girls.  Here  is 
seen  the  specialization  of  occupation  by  sex  and  the  pre- 
ponderant number  of  girls  in  clerical  positions. 

EVIDENCE    DRAWN    FROM    BUSINESS  ORGANIZATION 

Additional  evidence,  differing  in  character  from  that 
given  above,  may  be  seen  in  the  analysis  of  the  organization 
of  a  New  York  business  house  having  an  average  of  5100 
employees : 

ORGANIZATION    OF   A   RETAIL   DRY    GOODS  HOUSE  ^ 

Number  Per  Cent 

Employed  of  Total  Force 

Managerial 120  2.3 

Buyers 130  2.5 

Salespeople 1,900  37.0 

Stenographers 7°  i«3 

Clerical 360  7.1 

Inspectors 250  4.9 

Stockkeepers 120  2.3 

Bookkeepers 190  3-.7 

Auditors      90  1.7 

Delivery      55©  H-o 

Porters  and  Cleaners 180  3.5 

Messengers  (Junior)      160  3.2 

Cadets  (Junior)      260  5.1 

Factory  Hands 500  9-8 

Elevator  Operators 60  1.2 

Mechanics 160  3-^ 

5, 100  99.7 
1  These  replies  are  reprinted  as  received  from  business  houses. 


no 


Commercial  Education 


A  grouping  from  the  above  figures  of  positions  which 
may  be  considered  clerical  (stenographers,  clerical,  book- 
keepers, auditors)  shows  13.8  per  cent.  Compare  this 
figure  with  the  combined  items,  buyers  and  sellers,  39.5 
per  cent,  and  the  result  is  significant.  Certainly  clerical 
training  does  not  prepare  immediately  for  the  largest  sec- 
tion of  commercial  employment,  namely,  selling. 

Below  are  added  organization  figures  of  three  other 
business  houses. 


ORGANIZATION    OF   A    RETAIL   DRY    GOODS    HOUSE,    BOSTON  ^ 

1.  Approximate  number  of  employees,  967. 

2.  Classification  of  employees,  e.g.,  managerial,  buyers, 
salesmen,  clerical,  etc. 


Buyers  and  Assistants    ....  54 

Managerial 77 

Sales 311 

Stock 90 

Floor  Assistants 28 

Cashiers 56 

Clerical     116 

Decorators 7 


117 


Alteration 

Piece  Workers 

Manufacturing 

Repairers 

General  Receiving  and  Delivery 
Departments 42 

Shoppers  and  Foreign  Repre- 
sentatives     16 

Maintenance 53 


3.  The  relative  number  employed  in  each  class,  e.g.,  fif- 
teen per  cent  clerical,  etc. : 


Buyers  and  Assistants 


5.6      Alteration 


Managerial 7-9 

Sales 32-2 

Stock 9.3 

Floor  Assistants 2.9 

Cashiers 5-8 

Clerical      12.0 

Decorators 7 


Piece  Workers 

Manufacturing 

Repairers , 

General  Receiving  and  Deliv- 
ery Departments 1.7 

Shoppers  and  Foreign  Repre-  \ 
sentatives I  5.5 

Maintenance J 


*  These  replies  are  reprinted  as  received  from  business  houses. 


Commercial  High  Schools  iii 


INSURANCE  BUSINESS,    NEW    YORK,    WITH    15,488 
EMPLOYEES  ^ 

What  percentage  of  the  whole  organization  does  each 
class  of  employees  represent  —  e.g.,  fifteen  per  cent  clerical? 

Per  Cent 

Superintendents 2.10 

Assistants 9.38 

Agents 57.86 

Inspectors .i6 

Managers 04 

Heads 59 

Assistants .61 

Bookkeepers 4.53 

Clerks 12.44 

Stenographers 2.95 

Typewriters      5.22 

Telephone  Operators .03 

Electricians 16 

Engineers      .31 

Porters  and  Cleaners 1.98 

Commissariat  Help .79 

Printers 78 

WHOLESALE  DRY  GOODS  HOUSE,  BOSTON,  365   EMPLOYEES  ^ 

The  relative  number  employed  in  each  class,  e.g.,  fifteen 
per  cent  clerical,  etc. : 

Per  Cent 

Managerial 2 

Buyers 6 

Salesmen 24 

Clerical 19 

Stock  Hands 25 

Packers 4 

Sorters  and  Callers 7 

Entry  Clerks 4 

Watchmen,  Loft  Men,  Elevator  Men,  etc 6 

Carpenters  and  Repairers 2 

Engineer i 

*  These  replies  are  reprinted  as  received  from  business  houses. 


112  Commercial  Education 

Figures  from  other  business  organizations  show  approxi- 
mately the  same  ratios  with  a  single  exception,  that  of  a 
bank,  where  the  greatest  proportion  of  employees  serve  in 
clerical  capacities. 

TRANSFERS   IN    BUSINESS 

Do  commercial  employees  begin  in  the  clerical  position 
and  transfer  into  other  departments?  Evidence  is  strong 
that  such  a  transfer  is  not  the  usual  procedure.  From  the 
replies  of  business  men  the  following  are  offered  as  typical 
answers :  *'  If  he  enters  the  office  it  would  be  most  desirable 
to  know  bookkeeping.  If  in  the  store,  merchandising.  We 
employ  women  stenographers."  "  We  employ  experts  in 
the  three  subjects  mentioned,  but  a  knowledge  of  stenog- 
raphy and  typewriting  is  necessary  only  to  those  employed 
in  that  department."  "  We  do  not  make  it  a  condition,  in 
the  case  of  young  men  entering  our  employ,  to  be  familiar 
with  stenography,  typewriting,  or  bookkeeping,  unless  they 
are  specifically  employed  to  do  one  of  the  three  kinds  of 
work."  1 

The  objection  may  be  raised  that  the  statistics  presented 
above  deal  only  with  large  business  organizations,  and  that 
facts  relating  to  small  businesses  are  not  considered.  It  is 
safe  to  assert  that  the  same  ratio  of  clerical  work  is  fairly 
constant  whatever  the  size  of  the  business  may  be.  It  is 
admitted  that  a  boy  entering  a  small  business  where  he 
will  be  called  upon  to  perform  varied  duties  will  need  to 
have  some  facility  in  clerical  arts;  but  he  will  need  more 
to  have  in  addition  other  training  if  he  is  to  be  as  generally 
useful  as  possible.  If  an  individual,  unaided,  could  carry  on 
one  complete  business,  the  percentage  of  his  time  devoted 
to  the  different  activities  of  commerce  would  approximate 
the  proportions  indicated  in  the  examples  above.  The 
major  efforts  of  this  individual  would  be  in  the  competitive 
department  of  the  business;    and,  if  he  could  acquire  by 

1  See  Appendix,  page  167. 


Commercial  High  Schools  113 

training  facility  in  but  one  business  operation,  the  essential 
art  would  be  buying  and  selling,  not  keeping  books. 


EVIDENCE  FROM   THE  VOCATION   BUREAU   OF  BOSTON 

The  Vocation  Bureau  of  Boston,  in  a  recent  bulletin 
(1912)  dealing  with  the  subject,  "The  Department  Store 
and  Its  Opportunities  for  Boys  and  Young  Men,"  presents 
a  suggestive  body  of  confirmatory  evidence.  Extract  from 
pages  8 1  and  82 : 

"  The  most  usual  lines  of  promotion  and  transfer  for 
boys  may  be  best  shown  by  actual  examples  in  one  of 
the  large  stores,  among  those  investigated,  for  the 
month  of  July,  191 1,  there  being  from  one  to  six  cases 
of  each  of  the  following:  Floor  boy  to  retail  office; 
floor  boy  to  shipping  room;  office  boy  to  stock  boy; 
office  boy  to  time  desk ;  errand  boy  to  inspector ;  errand 
boy  to  truckman ;  stock  boy  to  teller ;  inspector  to  retail 
office;  inspector  to  mail  order  department;  inspector 
to  receiving  room ;  inspector  to  stock  boy ;  inspector  to 
examiner;  inspector  to  busheling  room;  inspector  to 
adjustment  office ;  truck  to  salesman ;  truck  to  inspector; 
truck  to  office ;  stock  boy  to  salesman ;  elevator  boy  to 
salesman ;  elevator  boy  to  salesman  in  the  bedding  sec- 
tion. To  this  may  be  added  a  few  cases  of  young  men 
during  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  store :  Salesman 
to  floor  superintendent;  cashier  to  retail  office;  assist- 
ant buyer  to  buyer  in  the  hosiery  department ;  salesman 
to  overseer  of  juvenile  help;  assistant  buyer  of  silks 
to  be  manager  of  a  millinery  house  of  an  outside  firm; 
from  the  stock  office  of  the  store  to  the  Department  of 
School  Supplies  of  the  City  of  Boston,  through  a  civil 
service  examination." 

There  are  several  instances  of  transfer  here  from  the  cleri- 
cal side  of  the  business  to  other  functions,  but  these  illus- 
trations do  not  show  that  initial  entrance  into  the  clerical 


114  Commercial  Education 

side  of  the  business  is  the  essential  or  usual  prerequisite  step 
to  liberal  business  opportunities,  which  is  the  present  mis- 
taken assumption  of  most  commercial  teachers. 

COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION    FOR   GIRLS 

The  burden  of  the  evidence  above  deals  with  the  boy  situ- 
ation, but  there  is  solid  ground  for  the  inference  that  a  simi- 
lar condition  exists  with  respect  to  girls.  The  deduction  is 
proper  that  familiarity  with  clerical  processes  is  not  a  pre- 
requisite for  general  commercial  employment.  Clerical 
training  for  the  girl  is  more  appropriate  because  a  much 
larger  proportion  of  girls  find  employment  in  clerical  posi- 
tions, but  clerical  training  for  girls  is  not  a  preparation  for 
the  larger  proportion  of  opportunities  in  business  houses. 

THE   SCHOOL   TRAINS    CLERICAL   EMPLOYEES    CHIEFLY 

The  reason  why  school  principals  conclude  that  clerical 
training  is  most  desirable  from  the  character  of  the  requests 
of  business  men  is  because  commercial  schools  have  ac- 
quired a  reputation  for  training  clerical  help.  When  the 
business  man  wishes  a  clerk  he  applies  to  the  "  business  " 
school ;  when  he  wishes  a  boy  or  girl  for  other  departments 
of  his  business  he  does  not  so  apply.  One  of  the  New  York 
City  principals  makes  a  proper  inference  in  the  following: 

"  In  placing  boys  in  positions  after  they  are  gradu- 
ates, our  experience  has  been  that  the  largest  demand 
is  for  boys  equipped  with  stenography  and  typewriting; 
the  next  largest  for  those  who  are  accurate  in  figures; 
the  third  for  those  with  general  horse  sense ;  and,  lastly, 
for  bookkeepers.  Such  facts  seem  to  justify  the  theory 
that  typewriters  are  mainly  in  demand,  but  this  might 
be  met  by  the  statement  that,  if  business  men  knew  they 
could  get  from  us  graduates  who,  without  stenography 
and  typewriting,  are  fitted  for  more  important  things, 
they  would  seek  from  us  such  young  men." 


Commercial  High  Schools  115 

It  is  entirely  possible  that  every  boy  graduate  of  New- 
York  commercial  schools  might  enter  business  in  a  clerical 
capacity,  and  that  subsequently  the  majority  might  transfer 
to  other  and  more  promising  departments;  and  yet  the 
position  maintained  in  this  report  remains  true ;  because  the 
schools  as  yet  train  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  pupils  who 
go  into  business.  The  historic  example  of  a  Cortelyou  who 
became  a  cabinet  member  by  reason  of  his  knowledge  of 
stenography  has  led  too  many  educators  to  conclude  that 
the  royal  road  to  success  lies  along  the  same  path. 

Studies  in  business  organization  made  in  connection  with 
this  report  ^  show  a  range  of  thirteen  per  cent  to  nineteen 
per  cent  engaged  in  clerical  work,  and  that  transfer  from 
clerical  departments  to  other  departments  is  unusual.  The 
evolution  of  success  is  usually  within  the  department  of 
original  entrance;  that  is,  the  boy  who  enters  the  book- 
keeping department  advances  in  that  department,  and  the 
boy  who  enters  on  stock  usually  becomes  a  salesman.  The 
chances  of  a  high  grade  of  remuneration  in  the  clerical  de- 
partment, except  at  the  head,  are  relatively  less  than  in 
the  competitive  side  of  business,  and  the  likelihood  of  up- 
ward growth  is  relatively  less.  If  we  should  adopt  Dean 
Schneider's  classification  of  occupations  as  energizing  and 
enervating,^  clerical  training  will  certainly  come  closer  to 
the  second,  though  probably  not  at  all  to  the  degree  which 
is  found  in  industry.^ 

THE   NARROW  AIM   OF  PRESENT  DAY  COMMERCIAL 
EDUCATION 

It  is  a  fair  inference  that  commercial  education  with  its 
present  limited  objective  is  aiming  at  the  preparation  of 
boys  and  girls  for  approximately  fifteen  per  cent  of  the 
demand  for  commercial  employees.     This  fraction  repre- 

*  By  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  Boston  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, see  pages  109-112. 

2  See  his  report.  •  See  Chapter  IV,  page  73. 


ii6  Commercial  Education 

sents  an  important  and  integral  part  of  business  needs.  Be- 
cause it  is  the  lesser  part,  it  should  not  be  neglected.  As 
indicated  on  page  103,  this  part  is  done  well,  and  we  can 
suggest  little  in  the  way  of  improvement. 

WHERE   THE   MAJORITY    OF   THE   BUSINESS   RECRUITS 
COME    FROM 

What  about  the  other  eighty-five  per  cent  of  commercial 
employees?  From  what  kind  of  training  do  beginners  in 
the  other  departments  of  business  come  ?  We  do  not  know 
definitely.  The  answer  to  this  question  could  not  be  under- 
taken within  the  limits  of  this  investigation.  We  shall 
suggest  on  page  135  of  this  report  how  further  evidence 
bearing  upon  the  question  may  be  secured,  but  the  following 
facts  and  surmises  are  suggestive.  First,  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  in  many  businesses  a  certain  proportion  of  posi- 
tions cannot  have  appropriate  training  in  a  secondary  school 
because  of  the  immaturity  of  high  school  pupils.  The  large 
percentage  of  college  graduates  who  enter  business  each 
year  shows  how  certain  positions  are  filled.  Again,  the 
number  of  commercial  schools  of  collegiate  grade  is  be- 
coming considerable,  and  the  graduates  of  these  institutions 
enter  business  very  rarely  in  clerical  capacities. 

THE    STANDARDS    SET    BY    BUSINESS    MEN 

Question  one  of  the  letter  of  inquiry  sent  to  business  men 
has  a  bearing  upon  the  question  now  under  consideration. 
Business  men,  as  a  rule,  do  not  set  educational  standards 
even  for  clerical  employees,  although  for  a  clerical  position 
specific  clerical  ability  is  often  sought.  For  all  other  posi- 
tions, which  constitute  about  eighty-five  per  cent  in  the 
average  business  house,^  only  general  qualifications  are  indi- 
cated, such  as  good  appearance,  good  family,  good  creden- 

*  Pages  109-112. 


Commercial  High  Schools  117 

tials.  The  following-  are  some  typical  answers  to  question 
one :  "  No.  Each  applicant  stands  on  his  own  merits,  but 
it  goes  without  saying  that  a  well  educated  young  man  al- 
ways has  the  preference."  "  We  have  no  exact  educational 
standards.  We  examine  applicants  in  elementary  arithmetic 
and  spelling.  Naturally  we  give  preference  to  applicants 
w^ith  the  best  educational  equipment,  but  very  often  our 
beginners  (boys  of  sixteen  and  seventeen,  girls  of  seventeen 
and  eighteen  years  of  age)  have  only  a  grammar  school 
training."  "  Juniors  are  engaged  by  reason  of  personal 
appearance,  aptness,  and  general  intelligence.  It  often  hap- 
pens that  graduates  are  not  as  bright  nor  as  intelligent  nor 
as  adaptable  as  those  who  have  not  graduated." 

Again  we  present  results  from  Pittsburgh  as  corrobora- 
tory evidence : 

"Of  those  replying,  twenty-eight  per  cent  set  no  edu- 
cational standards;  forty  per  cent  prefer  high  school 
graduates  (three  per  cent  of  these  preferred  high  school 
graduates  to  college  graduates)  ;  fourteen  per  cent  are 
of  the  opinion  that  the  more  education  the  better;  eight 
per  cent  require  only  common  school  education;  six 
per  cent  prefer  commercial  education;  one  per  cent 
prefer  technical  school  education;  one  per  cent  require 
*  brains,'  not  *  diplomas  ' ;  one  per  cent  consider  prime 
requisite  '  congeniality.'  *  I  would  not  overlook  the  most 
essential  of  all  requisites,  and  those  are  good  deportment 
and  personal  tidiness,  which  are  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance and  carry  great  weight.'  " 

We  infer  from  the  opinions  of  business  men  two  things : 

1.  That  clerical  training  is  not  a  prerequisite  for  em- 
ployment, except  for  clerical  positions,  nor  at  present  is  any 
other  kind  of  specific  commercial  training  sought  as  an 
alternative. 

2.  As  far  as  the  testimony  of  business  men  goes,  the 


ii8  Commercial  Education 

results  are  mainly  negative ;  there  has  been  no  clear  formu- 
lation of  principles  to  guide  commercial  schools. 

It  is  likely  that,  even  in  the  case  of  clerical  positions,  the 
majority  of  beginners  enter  without  preparation  and  are 
trained  in  the  business  houses.  For,  while  clerical  training 
aims  at  about  fifteen  per  cent  of  the  openings,  by  no  means 
do  the  special  schools  fill  this  proportion  of  the  places.  So 
of  necessity  the  great  majority  of  business  positions  are 
filled  by  boys  and  girls  who  come  from  elementary  schools, 
the  general,  manual  training,  and  classical  high  schools,  pri- 
vate schools,  and  colleges.  It  is  significant  that  business 
men  do  not  point  out  any  superiority  of  the  commercial 
school  product  over  the  general  school  product.  We  can- 
not escape  the  conclusion  that  the  non-commercial  schools 
have  a  larger  influence  in  the  sum  total  upon  business  than 
do  the  special  schools,  and  it  is  an  open  question  whether  or 
not  the  general  school  is  not  giving  at  present  more  appro- 
priate training  for  the  major  business  needs.  The  pupil  in 
the  general  high  school  does  not  get  false  impressions  con- 
cerning business  demands;  he  is  not  led  to  believe  that 
clerical  ability  is  the  one  essential,  and  in  applying  for  a  posi- 
tion he  does  not  seek  office  work  as  the  only  business  oppor- 
tunity. The  issue  raised  here  will  be  constructively  dealt 
with  on  page  140  of  this  chapter. 

It  is  evident  that  business  men  have  had  no  choice  of  an 
alternative,  for  commercial  schools  have  not  offered  any- 
thing but  clerical  work.  During  the  past  five  years  there  has 
been  a  marked  development  of  schools  of  salesmanship  con- 
ducted within  stores,  and  correspondence  schools  of  the 
same  nature.  Both  illustrate,  as  far  as  they  go,  the  growing 
conviction  that  other  and  more  important  functions  of  busi- 
ness must  have  appropriate  training. 

COEDUCATION    IN    COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION 

The  principle  of  coeducation  in  business  education  as  car- 
ried on  at  present  in  general  high  schools  deserves  some 


Commercial  Hi^h  Schools  119 

comment  in  passing.  The  significant  fact  observable  in  Mr. 
Chatfield's  figures  is  the  specialization  of  occupation  by  sex. 
Business  men  confirm  this  fact  by  the  frequent  statement, 
"  We  employ  women  stenographers."  Clerical  training  is 
more  appropriate  to  the  tastes  and  capacities  of  girls.  They 
succeed  better  in  it,  and  find  employment  with  this  equipment 
more  readily.  Coeducational  commercial  schools,  as  stated 
above,  testify  that  boys  drop  out  faster  than  girls.  Here  is 
a  typical  answer  from  school  principals :  "  Initial  ratio  of 
boys  to  girls  is  2  to  3 ;  at  the  end  of  the  course  the  ratio 
is  I  to  4  or  5."  The  boys  of  the  High  School  of  Commerce 
of  Boston,  which  has  the  double  advantage  of  being  a  sepa- 
rate school  (no  girls),  and  having  a  course  of  study  of  a 
character  not  exclusively  clerical,  persist  in  attendance  on 
the  average  better  than  boys  in  general  schools,  e.g..  High 
School  of  Commerce,  Boston,  annual  loss  of  membership, 
13.46  per  cent  (1906-10) ;  English  High  School,  Boston, 
16.7  per  cent  (1907-10);  Central  High  School,  Detroit, 
17.6  per  cent  (1905-10);  East  High  School,  Cleveland, 
17.4  per  cent  (1905-10). 

AN   EXPERIMENT    IN    SEGREGATION   OF  THE   SEXES 

In  one  general  high  school  in  New  York  City  (Bryant), 
an  experiment  has  been  made  during  the  current  school  year 
in  segregating  the  sexes  in  commercial  courses.  Following 
is  the  reply  of  the  principal  under  date  of  March  19,  1912 : 

"  Referring  to  yours  of  the  13th  instant,  I  beg  to  say 
that  before  the  segregation  of  the  sexes  in  our  commer- 
cial department  forty-one  per  cent  of  the  boys  who  en- 
tered would  leave  before  the  end  of  the  first  term.  Since 
we  have  made  a  commercial  course  adapted  to  the 
requirements  of  boys,  only  eight  per  cent  leave  during 
the  term,  and  of  this  eight  per  cent  seven  eighths  leave 
the  commercial  course  to  enter  the  regular  four-year 
course." 


120  Commercial  Education 

While  this  experience  seems  to  be  a  strong  endorsement, 
the  experiment  has  been  carried  on  for  too  short  a  time  to 
base  positive  conclusions  upon  it. 

Economic,  social,  and  sentimental  reasons  still  tend  to 
keep  many  high  schools  coeducational,  but  it  is  well  worth 
while  in  New  York  City  to  inquire  further  into  the  principle 
of  segregation.  For  the  purpose  of  effective  commercial 
education,  we  maintain  that  the  segregation  of  the  sexes  is 
of  vital  importance. 


COURSES   OF   STUDY   IN    NEW    YORK    CITY 

We  may  now  proceed  to  examine  with  some  detail  several 
courses  of  study  in  operation  in  New  York  City  commercial 
schools.  Courses  of  study  can  only  be  judged  in  the  rela- 
tion of  principle  to  practice.  If  the  aims  are  challenged  then 
the  course  of  study  exalting  those  aims  cannot  be  approved. 
Let  us  examine  several  courses  of  study  in  the  light  of  desir- 
able and  of  mistaken  aims. 


Courses  of  Study  of  the  Commercial  High  School, 
Brooklyn 

three-year  course  four-year  course 

First  Year 

/  Hours  Hours 

English      5      English      5 

Business  Practice  (Arithmetic  and  Business  Practice  (Arithmetic  and 

Penmanship) 5          Penmanship) 5 

Commercial  Geography 2       Commercial  Geography      ....  2 

Biology      3      Biology      3 

Bookkeeping  and  Correspondence     4      German  or  Spanish 5 

Music I       Music i 

Drawing 2      Drawing 2 

Gymnasium      2       Gymnasium 2 

Assembly i      Assembly i 


Commercial  High  Schools  121 

Second  Year 

Hours  Hours 

English      3  English      3 

History      3  History      3 

Stenography 5  Stenography 3 

Physics  or  Chemistry 4  Physics,  Chemistry,  or  Algebra    .  4 

Accounts 5  Language 5 

Music I  Bookkeeping  and  Correspondence  4 

Gymnasium 2  Music i 

Drawing 2  Gymnasium      2 

Assembly i  Assembly i 

Third  Year 

Hours  Hours 

English      3  English 3 

American  History 4  American  History 4 

Stenography 5  Stenography 5 

Law,  Shop,  or  Drawing      ....  3  Language 5 

Accounts 2  Accounts 5 

Typewriting 5  Music i 

Music I  Gymnasium      2 

Gymnasium      2  Assembly i 

Assembly i 

Fourth  Year 

Hours 

English      3 

Language 4 

Typewriting 5 

Law,  Drawing,  or  Shop 3 

Economics 3 

Chemistry,  Physics,  or  Geometry  4 

Music I 

Gymnasium 2 

Assembly i 

The  Four- Year  Course  gives  a  thorough  preparation  for  business  and  for 
life,  and  leads  regularly  to  the  Diploma  of  the  school.  It  also  fits  those  who 
desire  it  for  higher  study. 

The  Three-Year  Course  is  designed  for  those  who  cannot  afford  to  take  the 
longer  time.    It  omits  the  study  of  a  foreign  language  and  leads  to  a  Certificate. 

The  courses  are  so  arranged  that  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  a  pupil  may 
change  from  the  three-year  course  to  four,  or  from  the  four-year  to  the  three. 

Parents  will  be  kind  enough  to  indicate  in  the  space  below  the  course 
they  wish  their  sons  to  take  by  crossing  out  the  course  or  language  which  is 
NOT  to  be  taken. 


122  Commercial  Education 

The  aims  of  the  four-year  course  are  set  forth  in  the 
first  explanatory  paragraph,  and  they  are  apparently  two- 
fold ;  namely,  a  preparation  "  for  business  and  for  life  "  and 
for  higher  institutions.  The  advantages  of  specialization  are 
lessened  in  this  double  objective.  The  whole  theory  of  spe- 
cial schools  is  to  devote  the  major  effort  to  some  one  aim. 
The  attempt  to  include  preparation  for  higher  institutions  is 
unfortunate.  It  was  explained  to  the  investigator  that  fit- 
ting for  life  was  not  an  optional  and  distinct  aim,  but  a  con- 
comitant of  the  purpose  of  this  school  which,  while  fitting 
boys  for  business,  gave  general  culture  and  equipment  for 
citizenship.  This  is  entirely  praiseworthy,  but  it  ought  not 
to  be  necessary  to  assume  that  a  proper  vocational  education 
does  not  contain  within  its  own  meaning  these  general  as- 
sumptions. Fitting  for  life  has  long  been  stated  to  be  the 
aim  of  general  education;  but  the  definition  of  the  meaning 
of  the  expression  has  too  often  not  been  clear  or  satisfactory. 

The  choice  of  subjects  found  in  the  course  of  study  and 
the  methods  of  teaching  them  in  a  special  school  intended 
to  provide  vocational  (commercial)  training  for  business 
is  justified  by  New  York  City  principals,  as  follows :  first, 
some  of  the  subjects  must  be  of  a  general  character,  giving 
the  material  necessary  for  any  well-informed  person  — 
such  subjects  as  English,  history,  arithmetic;  second,  the 
methods  involved  in  acquiring  certain  subjects  are  useful 
as  a  part  of  a  general  equipment  —  such  subjects  as  mathe- 
matics, science,  composition;  third,  other  subjects  must  con- 
stitute a  body  of  special  vocational  equipment  —  such  sub- 
jects as  bookkeeping,  office  practice. 

The  course  of  study  under  consideration  shows,  to  a  de- 
gree, a  comprehension  of  and  adherence  to  these  principles. 
Such  a  subject  as  English,  while  constituting  a  subject  in- 
volving general  values,  still  can  and  should  be  in  a  commer- 
cial school  a  specific  kind  of  English  for  pupils  selecting  the 
vocation  of  commerce  as  an  objective;  for  it  is  entirely 
possible  that  one  subject  may  possess  a  twofold  value, 
viz.,  culture  and  vocational  training.     A  similar  statement 


Commercial  High  Schools  123 

will  apply  to  other  subjects,  such  as  history,  chemistry, 
and  physics.  The  assertion  that  the  course  of  study  fits  for 
higher  institutions  shows,  in  a  large  measure,  that  the  voca- 
tional motive  shares  attention  with  another,  the  accomplish- 
ment of  which  is  difficult  and  engrossing.  An  examination 
of  college  entrance  requirements  and  state  syllabi  will  bear 
out  this  contention. 

In  the  above  course  of  study  are  found  subjects  which 
cannot  be  justified  as  requirements  for  any  adequate  reason, 
e.g.,  music  for  four  years,  drawing,  and  geometry.  We  can 
find  no  adequate  evidence  to  show  that  stenography  should 
be  a  requirement  for  boys  in  a  commercial  high  school. 
Shop  work  with  no  bearing  on  the  problems  of  commerce 
as  an  elective  in  a  commercial  school  is  out  of  place.  Biol- 
ogy may  be  justified  on  the  ground  of  its  general  value;  but 
as  fundamental  commercial  sciences  physics  and  chemistry 
with  special  applications  should  be  preferred.  Biology  is 
more  aptly  the  science  for  agricultural  education. 

The  course  of  study  is  too  choppy ;  that  is,  there  are  too 
many  subjects,  and  too  few  periods  are  assigned  to  each. 
This  probably  comes  from  the  attempt  to  divide  the 
aim  of  the  school.  We  agree  with  the  following  opinion 
of  the  Committee  of  Sixty  (High  School  Teachers'  Associ- 
ation) contained  in  the  official  bulletin  of  March  16,  1912: 
"  We  concur  in  general  with  the  present  tendency  in  educa- 
tional theory  favoring  greater  concentration  upon  fewer 
high  school  subjects.  At  present  many  of  our  students  are 
required  to  carry  six  or  more  subjects  at  once.  This  leads 
to  distraction,  superficiality,  and  the  violation  of  many  prin- 
ciples of  efficiency." 

In  justice  to  the  school  under  consideration,  it  should  be 
mentioned  that  a  number  of  subjects,  e.g.,  chemistry,  are 
made  to  conform  to  the  vocational  purpose  of  the  school. 
One  English  teacher  expressed  himself  as  dissatisfied  with 
the  English  course  as  tested  by  regents'  requirements,  and 
favored  a  different  kind  of  English  to  suit  better  the  needs 
of  commercial  pupils.    The  head  of  the  department,  how- 


124  Commercial  Education 

ever,  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  academic  EngHsh  was  of 
superior  advantage.  The  principal  of  the  school  was  en- 
tirely favorable  to  the  opinion  voiced  in  the  criticisms  given 
above.  He  says :  "  Our  syllabi  follow  in  English  the  regu- 
lar state  and  city  syllabus ;  in  other  departments  we  follow 
plans  of  our  own,  adapted  to  the  special  requirements  of  a 
commercial  school.  Our  history  is  made  largely  social,  in- 
dustrial, and  economic.  Our  physics  and  chemistry  are 
given  but  four  periods  a  week,  where  the  college  entrance 
requirements  call  for  five  periods,  and  the  work  is  made  to 
turn  largely  upon  industrial  applications.  Our  mathematics 
is  also  necessarily  below  college  entrance  requirements,  being 
given  only  four  periods  a  week." 

The  Commercial  Course  in  Jamaica,  Flushing,  Newtown, 

Richmond  Hill,  Far  Rockaway,  and  Bushwick 

High  Schools 

FIRST  YEAR 

English S 

German,  French,  or  Spanish 5 

■  Commercial  Arithmetic,  i  and  2  Physiology  and  Hygiene  ....     5 
Bookkeeping,  Penmanship,  and  Business  Forms,  i  and  2    .    .    .    .     5 

Drawing 2 

Voice  Training  and  Declamation     i 

Music I 

Physical  Training _2 

26 

Pupils  wishing  to  defer  the  study  of  Bookkeeping  until  the  second  year 
may  take  in  its  place  either  Biology  or  Algebra. 

SECOND   YEAR 

English      3 

German,  French,  or  Spanish S 

Bookkeeping 5 

Stenography,  3  and  4 5 

Typewriting 4 

Business  Correspondence 3 

Physical  Training 2 

Music _]_ 

28 
Pupils  not  wishing  to  take  both  Stenography  and  Bookkeeping  may  sub- 
stitute for  either  of  these  Algebra  or  Chemistry. 


Commercial  High  Schools  125 


THIRD  YEAR 

English      3 

German,  French,  or  Spanish 5 

Bookkeeping  and  OflSce  Practice,  5  and  6 5 

Stenography,  3  and  4 5 

Typewriting 4 

Commercial  Law 3 

25 

Pupils  not  wishing  to  take  both  Stenography  and  Bookkeeping  may  sub- 
stitute for  either  of  these  Geometry  or  American  History  and  Civics. 

This  course  is  followed  in  the  schools  noted  above  and  is 
closely  similar  to  the  courses  used  in  the  other  general  high 
schools  offering  three-year  courses.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  pupils  not  wishing  to  take  the  vocational  subjects 
of  the  course  may  substitute  other  subjects  not  vocational. 
If  pupils  take  advantage  of  this  option,  how  may  it  be 
claimed  that  they  are  pursuing  a  commercial  course?  One 
principal  asserts  that  pupils  practically  never  do  take  advan- 
tage of  it  in  his  school.  The  course  is  frankly  clerical;  it 
is  pursued  mainly  by  girls,  who  can  best  profit  by  it  and  who 
find  the  readiest  market  for  clerical  accomplishment,  and  it 
is  defensible  for  them.  It  is  not  suitable  for  boys,  a  lesser 
number  of  whom  are  attracted  by  it ;  the  failure  of  boys  to 
persist  in  it  has  already  been  noted.  The  general  subjects, 
such  as  English  and  modern  languages,  are  not  related  to 
the  vocation,  and  very  frequently  no  separate  sections  are 
maintained  for  commercial  pupils.  The  course,  on  the 
whole,  is  better  for  girls  than  the  course  in  the  Commercial 
High  School  of  Brooklyn  is  for  boys.  The  requirement  of 
commercial  law  may  be  questioned.  The  term  is  preten- 
tious and  suggests  a  degree  of  maturity  which  cannot  be 
assumed  in  the  third  year  of  the  secondary  school  period. 


126  Commercial  Education 


Course  of  Study  in  the  High  School  of  Commerce, 
Manhattan 

COURSE  OF  STUDY 
The  High  School  of  Commerce,  Manhattan 

first  year 
Required  Periods 

English      4 

German,  French,  or  Spanish 4 

Algebra     4 

Biology  *  (with  especial  reference  to  materials  of  commerce)     .   .     4 

Business  Knowledge  and  Practice  ** 6 

Drawing  (second  half  year) 2 

Physical  Training  * 2 

Music _i 

27 
*  Including  Physiology. 
**  Including  Local  Industries  and  Government  of  the  City  of 

New  York 2 

Business  Writing 2 

Business  Arithmetic,  Business  Forms  and  Methods     .    .     2 


SECOND  YEAR 

Required                                                                                                Periods 
English      3 

German,  French,  or  Spanish 4 

Plane  Geometry 3 

Chemistry  (with  especial  reference  to  materials  of  commerce)    .    .     4 
History  *  (with  especial  reference  to  economic  history  and  geog- 
raphy)   3 

Stenography 3 

Drawing  and  Art  Study 2 

Physical  Training __£ 

24 
*  First  half  year,  Beginning  of  Nations  to  1300  a.d. 
Second  half  year,  Modem  History  to  1750. 

Electives  Periods 

German,  French,  or  Spanish 4 

Bookkeeping  and  Business  Forms 3 

Business  Arithmetic i 

Commercial  Geography     i 


Commercial  High  Schools  i2y 

Required  ™^  ^^  Periods 

English      3 

German,  French,  or  Spanish 4 

Geometry  and  Algebra  * 3 

Physics      5 

History  **  (with  especial  reference  to  materials  of  commerce)  .    .     3 

Drawing  and  Art  Study i 

Physical  Training 2   ' 

21 

*  In  the  second  half  year,  students  may  elect  additional  Stenography  and 
Typewriting  or  Bookkeeping  in  place  of  the  second  course  in  Mathematics, 
or  may  give  double  time  to  Mathematics  by  omitting  either  Stenography  or 
Bookkeeping. 

**  First  half  year,  English  and  Colonial  History,  1620  to  1750.  Second 
half  year.  Modem  History  (England  and  the  Continent),  1750  to  present  time. 

Electives  Periods 

German,  French,  or  Spanish 4 

Bookkeeping  and  Business  Arithmetic 3 

Stenography  and  Typewriting 3 

Drawing  and  Art  Study 2 

Commercial  Geography     i 

Required  '°^™  ™^  Periods 

English 3 

German,  French,  or  Spanish 4 

Economics  and  Economic  Geography     4 

History  of  the  United  States  (with  especial  reference  to  industrial 

and  constitutional  aspects) 4 

Physical  Training _2 

Electives  Periods 

A  Foreign  Language 4 

Advanced  Chemistry 4 

Economic  Biology 4 

Trigonometry  and  Solid  Geometry 4 

Elementary  Law  and  Commercial  Law  * 4 

Advanced  Bookkeeping,   Business  Correspondence,   and  Office 

Practice 4 

Stenography  and  Typewriting 4 

Drawing  and  Art  Study 4 

Modem  Industrialism      i 

*  Students  who  do  not  elect  law  in  the  fourth  year  may  receive  instruc- 
tion in  Commercial  Law  in  connection  with  Advanced  Bookkeeping. 


128  Commercial  Education 

The  course  shows  a  broad  scope  intended  to  cover  both 
"  general  culture  "  and  training  for  business.  It  is  open  to 
the  criticism  of  containing  too  many  subjects  with  too  few 
recitations  per  subject.  Again,  we  do  not  approve  stenog- 
raphy as  a  compulsory  study  for  boys  in  any  year.  We  seri- 
ously doubt  the  wisdom  of  compulsory  music,  drawing,  and 
art.  Plane  geometry  as  a  compulsory  study  in  commercial 
schools  cannot  be  defended,  and  the  geometry  and  algebra 
of  the  third  year  are  of  more  than  doubtful  value  in  such 
a  school.  The  amount  of  compulsory  algebra  and  geometry 
throughout  the  course  is  practically  that  of  a  college  pre- 
paratory school,  and  this  school  is  not  frankly  college 
preparatory. 

The  High  School  of  Commerce  is  the  only  school  not 
fettered  by  regents'  examinations,  and  the  opportunity  to 
establish  a  course  of  study  more  suitable  to  the  special  needs 
of  commerce  is  consequently  large.  The  course  of  study  is 
stronger  than  that  of  the  Commercial  High  School  of  Brook- 
lyn; but  the  school  has  not  taken  full  advantage  of  its 
opportunities.  In  addition  to  the  defects  pointed  out  above, 
it  should  be  noted  that  commercial  geography  as  an  elective 
one  period  per  week  in  the  third  year  could  well  be  offered 
with  more  periods  as  a  required  study  in  the  same  year  in- 
stead of  algebra  and  geometry.  Commercial  law  in  the 
fourth  year  (elective)   should  replace  history   (required).^ 

The  school  syllabi  show  a  commendable  effort  to  embody 
the  vocational  purposes  of  the  school.  The  general  subjects, 
when  possible,  are  made  to  possess  a  commercial  value.  For 
example,  the  aim  of  the  instruction  in  modern  languages  is 
said  to  be  "  thorough  grounding  in  the  essentials  of  gram- 
mar; reading  of  representative  German,  French,  and  Span- 
ish prose;  the  acquiring  of  an  active  vocabulary;  mastery 
of  simple  commercial  correspondence.  The  aim  of  the 
course  is  to  give  the  pupil  a  fair  speaking  knowledge,  a  good 
reading  knowledge,  and  a  familiarity  with  commercial  Ger- 

*  See  footnote  i,  page  140. 


Commercial  High  Schools  129 

man,  French,  or  Spanish."  Testimony  from  the  principal 
is  as  follows :  "  The  general  work  is  intimately  related  to 
the  fundamental  work  of  the  school,  and  for  that  reason 
has  little  in  common  with  the  general  work  of  the  academic 
high  school.  Every  department  has  its  particular  problem, 
the  task  of  making  its  work  function  in  a  genuine  training 
for  business."  We  conclude  that  the  ideal  set  up  in  this 
testimony  would  be  far  more  productive  of  results  in  a 
course  of  study  more  definitely  vocational. 

TEACHERS    IN    COMMERCIAL    SCHOOLS   WITHOUT 
EXPERIENCE   AND    TRAINING 

As  noted  on  page  100,  the  lack  of  teachers  with  commer- 
cial experience  and  sympathy  is  a  serious  matter.  In  the 
Commercial  High  School  of  Brooklyn,  eighteen  out  of 
ninety-six  are  so-called  commercial  teachers  —  meaning 
teachers  who  instruct  in  clerical  arts.  The  remaining 
teachers  —  seventy-eight  in  number  —  came  from  general 
lists  designed  to  furnish  teachers  for  academic  high  schools. 
It  cannot  safely  be  assumed  that  the  majority  of  these 
teachers  will  acquire  the  vocational  point  of  view  after  being 
assigned  to  the  special  school.  Higher  schools  of  commerce 
(college  and  university)  have  attained  some  prominence  in 
this  country,  and  it  would  seem  probable  that  such  schools 
could  train  sufficient  teachers  for  secondary  schools  of  com- 
merce.^ The  requirements  of  Germany  are  suggestive  as 
proper  models.  In  that  country  teachers  for  secondary 
commercial  schools  are  required  either  to  be  graduates  of 
higher  commercial  schools  or  else  to  have  actual  commercial 
experience. 

REASONS    FOR   POORER   QUALITY   OF    COMMERCIAL    PUPILS 

Attention  was  called  on  page  97  to  the  relatively  poor 
quality  of  commercial  pupils  (particularly  in  general  high 

*  See  page  32. 


130  Commercial  Education 

schools),  poorer  in  mental  power,  social  grade,  and  in  per- 
sonal character.  A  law  of  human  gravitation  probably  ex- 
plains this  phenomenon.  Our  commercial  education  at 
present  trains  only  for  the  "enervating "  occupations  of 
commerce,  corresponding  in  a  rough  way  to  the  automatic 
work  of  industry.  Commerce  has  its  full  amount  of  ener- 
gizing occupations  —  more  perhaps  relatively  than  has 
industry.  But  commercial  education  does  not  take  cogni- 
zance of  these  opportunities;  and  as  a  consequence  the 
higher  type  of  individual,  the  energetic,  forceful,  and  am- 
bitious boy  or  girl,  does  not  pursue  commercial  education. 

There  are  other  contributory  reasons  to  the  failure  of 
the  best  pupils  to  select  commercial  education.  Social 
prejudice  is  still  strong  against  many  forms  of  applied  edu- 
cation. Teachers  in  the  elementary  schools,  consciously  or 
unconsciously,  influence  the  brightest  pupils  toward  what 
is  considered  more  liberal  education.  Ambitious  parents 
still  see  in  the  professions  a  better  prospect  than  in 
business.  Changes  in  this  attitude  are  beginning.  The 
overcrowding  of  the  professions  and  the  growing  oppor- 
tunities of  business  are  counteracting  influences;  the  pre- 
ponderance of  college  men  entering  business  is  another 
significant  sign. 

Commercial  education  can  be  made  to  appeal  to  all  classes 
of  pupils,  but  several  specific  things  are  immediately  neces- 
sary to  remedy  present  conditions.  Commercial  education 
must  greatly  expand  its  scope  to  embrace  the  larger  oppor- 
tunities of  business;  business  men  must  cooperate  in  many 
ways  and  must  set  standards  and  point  their  needs  more 
specifically.  It  is  also  important  that  a  large  amount  of  in- 
formation concerning  business  opportunities  must  be  made 
available  for  pupils,  parents,  and  teachers. 

OBJECTIONS   TO    REGENTS'    EXAMINATIONS 

Finally,  a  word  must  be  said  here  as  to  the  effect  of  re- 
gents' examinations  on  commercial  education.    The  foremost 


Commercial  High  Schools  131 

objection  to  the  regents'  examinations  in  this  field  is  the  fact 
that  these  examinations  enforce  and  perpetuate  a  set  of 
standards  which  are  artificial,  not  real.  The  limitations  of 
the  present  purpose  of  these  examinations,  and  the  desir- 
ability of  adding  other  and  more  important  aims,  have 
already  been  pointed  out.  Further,  a  set  of  written  tests, 
such  as  constitute  the  regents'  examinations,  do  not  test 
vocational  efficiency,  for  the  true  test  of  vocational  effi- 
ciency is  the  success  of  the  individual  in  business;  and  a 
thorough  system  of  following  up  pupils  in  business  is  a 
more  appropriate  test  of  vocational  efficiency  than  any  writ- 
ten test  can  be.  But  the  teacher  is  held  responsible  for  the 
success  of  boys  and  girls  on  written  papers.  The  teacher's 
promotion  to  the  highest  grade  of  rank  is  judged  in  part  by 
this  standard.  The  natural  inclination  of  the  teachers  is 
to  disregard  the  real  test  in  the  business  world  and  to  exalt 
the  artificially  imposed  standard.  The  investigator  found 
evidence  that  the  temptation  is  strong  for  teachers  to  drill 
pupils  on  past  examination  papers,  to  emphasize  topics  which 
are  liable  to  be  asked  in  the  state  tests.  The  danger  is  con- 
stant that  coaching  and  cramming  may  take  the  place  of 
instruction  and  the  development  of  real  power.  Again,  it 
is  an  open  question  whether  written  examinations  really  test 
educational  achievements.  Educators  have  never  agreed 
that  they  do.^ 

The  apparent  reason  w^hy  commercial  education  has  been 
subjected  to  the  regents'  examinations  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  commercial  subjects  have  been  classified  as  academic 
subjects,  instead  of  vocational  subjects.  The  state  depart- 
ment does  not  demand  examinations  in  agriculture,  home 
science,  and  shop  work,  presumably  because  these  subjects 

*  In  a  paper  before  the  Harvard  Teachers'  Association,  March  9,  191 2, 
Clyde  Furst,  Secretary  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation,  made  the  statement  that 
an  exhaustive  study  of  the  results  of  college  entrance  examinations  showed 
that  achievements  in  these  tests  have  little  relation  to  the  records  made  in 
the  preparatory  schools  and  small  relation  to  the  grades  attained  in  college.  — 
The  School  Review,  page  324,  May,  1912. 


132  Commercial  Education 

are  classified  as  vocational.  The  failure  of  educators  to 
conceive  commercial  education  as  vocational  in  nature  is 
the  cardinal  error  in  the  whole  matter.  The  further  treat- 
ment of  this  matter  will  be  reserved  for  Section  III. 


Section  III 

VOCATIONAL   EDUCATION   DEFINED 

We  asserted  in  the  concluding  statement  of  Section  II 
that  the  crux  of  the  shortcomings  pointed  out  lay  in  the 
failure  to  conceive  commercial  education  as  vocational  edu- 
cation. What,  then,  is  vocational  education,  and  why  is 
commercial  education  not  vocational?  We  have  adopted 
the  following  definition  of  vocational  education :  1  "  '  Voca- 
tional education  '  shall  mean  any  education  the  controlling 
purpose  of  which  is  to  fit  for  profitable  employment."  The 
definition,  however,  is  not  so  significant  as  the  interpreta- 
tion of  it.  Certain  forms  of  vocational  education  in  several 
states  are  aided  by  state  money.  The  definitions  of  voca- 
tional education  in  these  cases  are  very  specific,  and  ap- 
proved schools  must  fulfill  the  conditions  laid  down  by  the 
state  authorities. 

In  general,  state-approved  vocational  schools  must  have  a 
direct  connection  with  the  vocation  taught.  Teachers  in  the 
schools  must  have  had  actual  experience  in  the  vocations; 
there  must  be  advisory  committees  composed  of  members 
representing  the  industries  taught;  the  equipment  must  be 
suitable,  and  the  selection  of  pupils  must  be  made  some- 
what upon  the  matter  of  fitness  and  adaptability.  Courses 
of  study  must  be  formulated  in  harmony  with  the  aim  as 
defined;  provision  for  cooperative  and  part-time  work  must 
be  made.  There  is  no  admission  of  the  principle  of  divided 
motives  such  as  have  been  pointed  out  in  connection  with 
the  New  York  City  commercial  schools.     The  vocational 

*  Massachusetts  State  Laws,  Acts  191 1,  Chapter  471. 


Commercial  High  Schools  133 

schools  under  the  interpretation  of  the  Massachusetts  law 
must  meet  the  needs  actually  discoverable  in  the  industries 
aimed  at. 

We  have  pointed  out  the  discrepancy  between^jcomnaercial — 
needs  and  commercial  education.  In  a  word,Ceducation  is 
vocational  in  proportion  as  it  meets  the  needs  and  condi- 
tions of  the  vocation.  New  York  City  commercial  schools 
lack  the  vocational  characteristics  just  so  far  as  they  fail 
to  see  and  meet  those  needs.  In  a  broad  sense,  all  schools 
are  vocational  in  that  they  aim  at  general  preparation  for 
participation  in  life's  activities;  but  preparation  for  voca- 
tional life  in  a  specific  and  comprehensive  way  is  the  essen- 
tial aim  of  vocational  schools. 


NEW    YORK    CITY    COMMERCIAL   COURSES   ARE   NOT 
VOCATIONAL 

New  York  City's  commercial  courses  are  academic  rather 
than  vocational.  The  general  subjects  in  the  course  are  in 
most  cases  not  related  to  the  vocation;  the  specific  voca- 
tional subjects  cover  only  a  part  of  the  vocation,  and  the 
lesser  part  at  that.  Compared  with  the  vocational  industrial 
courses  taken  as  a  type,  the  commercial  courses  under  con- 
sideration have  so  small  a  connection  with  commerce  that 
they  cannot  be  strictly  classified  as  vocational.  It  is  true 
that  the  pupils  who  have  pursued  these  courses  go  into  com- 
merce, but  that  fact  does  not  make  the  courses  vocational. 
The  product  of  all  the  schools  in  any  large  commercial 
center  goes  into  commercial  pursuits,  but  this  fact  does  not 
make  the  schools  vocational.  Approximately  sixty  per  cent 
of  the  graduates  of  one  of  our  large  Eastern  colleges  go  into 
commerce,^  but  this  institution  cannot  be  called  a  vocational 
school.  The  failure  of  the  teachers  to  conceive  commercial 
work  as  vocational  is  well  illustrated  in  the  official  bulletin 
of  the  High  School  Teachers'  Association  of  New  York 

*  Studies  made  of  the  classes  of  1901,  1904,  1905  of  Harvard  College. 


134  Commercial  Education 

City,  March  i6,  191 2.  Here,  under  an  excellent  suggestion 
for  a  five-subject  program,  is  found  the  designation  of 
commercial  subjects  as  optional  with  algebra,  Latin,  house- 
hold economics,  mechanic  arts ;  that  is,  commercial  work  is 
just  like  an  academic  subject,  to  be  pursued  four  or  five 
periods  a  week  in  connection  with  other  subjects  having 
general  or  indefinite  aims.  One  would  not  for  a  moment 
expect  to  train  industrial  workers  by  any  such  plan,  and  the 
attempt  to  train  commercial  workers  is  equally  futile. 


THE   COUNTRYWIDE   MISCONCEPTION    OF   COMMERCIAL 
EDUCATION 

New  York  City  is  not  the  only  city  with  a  false  or  inade- 
quate conception  of  commercial  education.  Such  a  concep- 
tion is  countrywide.  The  prevailing  notion  concerning 
commercial  education  may  be  seen  in  the  printed  proceed- 
ings of  the  National  Educational  Association,  1911  (pages 
827  to  868).  The  important  papers  in  the  proceedings 
have  the  following  titles :  "  Bookkeeping  Fundamentals," 
"  Teaching  Typewriting  for  the  Best  Results,"  "  Business 
English,"  "  Commercial-Economic  Geography,"  "  Short- 
hand, Its  Educational  and  Practical  Value."  Nowhere  in 
the  discussions  does  there  appear  the  realization  of  funda- 
mental principles.  None  of  the  speakers  seemed  interested 
in  the  matter  of  whether  or  not  commercial  education  is 
pointing  in  the  right  direction,  to  say  nothing  of  whether 
or  not  it  is  hitting  the  mark. 


INADEQUATE    FOUNDATION    OF    COMMERCIAL    EDUCATION 

There  are  reasons  for  the  widespread  ineffective  type  of 
commercial  education.  Commercial  education  came  into 
the  public  school  systems  of  the  country  at  an  unfortunate 
time,  at  a  time  when  it  was  pedagogically  unfashionable 
for  schools  to  have  a  vocational  purpose.     All  subjects  at 


Commercial  High  Schools  135 

this  epoch  were  idealized  in  order  to  make  them  yield  what 
were  considered  cultural  values.  When  manual  training 
came  into  the  schools,  many  people  thought  it  would  benefit 
industry.  We  now  find  it  necessary  to  industrialize  manual 
training  if  it  is  to  serve  vocational  ends.  It  will  be  equally 
necessary  to  vocationalize  commercial  education,  for  com- 
mercial education  has  been  conventionalized  into  a  high 
school  subject  which  gives  "  points  "  toward  a  high  school 
"  academic  "  diploma.  The  aims,  means,  and  methods  of 
commercial  education  have  been  subjected  to  no  investiga- 
tions preliminary  to  adoption,  nor  to  real  tests  as  to  pres- 
ent effectiveness  in  practice.  Commercial  education  was 
originally  conceived  to  be  merely  clerical  training,  like  that 
carried  on  in  business  colleges,  and  that  notion,  largely 
unchanged,  still  persists. 


A   BETTER   PLAN 

Let  us  suppose  that  commercial  education,  like  industrial 
education,  had  been  delayed  until  the  present  time.  Let  us 
assume  that  state  authorities  in  order  to  establish  commer- 
cial education  should  appoint  commissions  to  study  the  prob- 
lem and  to  report  an  appropriate  plan  of  procedure.  What 
would  they  most  likely  do,  and  what  plans  would  probably 
be  proposed?  Without  doubt  the  program  of  procedure 
adopted  would  be  quite  similar  to  that  for  industrial 
education. 

The  plan  adopted  for  state-aided  schools  in  a  neighbor- 
ing state  are  suggestive.  In  Massachusetts  an  investigation 
of  the  need  of  an  industrial  school  in  a  community  is  made 
through  a  temporary  commission,  which  consists  of  ^  "  man- 
ufacturers and  workingmen  representing  dominant  indus- 
tries of  the  vicinity,  of  ladies  of  experience  in  social  and 
industrial  questions,  and  of  members  of  the  local  school 

*  Bulletin  No.  3,  191 1,  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Education. 


136  Commercial  Education 

committee,  together  with  the  superintendent  of  schools." 
The  problems  to  solve  are  in  part  these :  "  What  is  the  need 
of  industrial  education  in  the  community?  What  are  the 
dominant  industries  to  be  served  by  the  proposed  school? 
What  becomes  of  boys  and  girls  leaving  school  at  fourteen  ? 
Which  groups  are  to  be  reached  by  different  forms  of  in- 
dustrial, household  arts,  or  agricultural  training?  What 
part  is  the  all-day  school  to  play?  the  part-time  (coopera- 
tive) school?  the  evening  school?" 

The  above  method  is  recommended.  Why  should  not 
such  a  procedure  be  advantageous  in  establishing  commer- 
cial schools  and  in  testing  commercial  schools  now  in  opera- 
tion? The  problem  of  industrial  education  is  closely  similar 
to  the  problem  of  commercial  education.  Each  leads  to 
useful  occupation  in  the  community.  Training  for  the  pro- 
duction of  goods  and  training  for  the  marketing  of  goods 
should  be  based  on  similar  principles.  An  increasing  num- 
ber of  industrial  corporations  combine  in  one  management 
both  economic  operations.  There  is  no  reason  why  one 
should  be  practical  and  the  other  academic. 


ADJUSTMENTS   THAT    COMMERCIAL    EDUCATION    MUST 

MAKE 

Commercial  education  to  fulfill  its  function  must  make 
several  important  adjustments.  Courses  of  study  must  be 
so  planned  that  the  general  subjects  shall  be  related  to  com- 
merce; teachers  of  general  subjects  in  commercial  schools 
should  have  had  either  practical  business  experience  or  train- 
ing in  higher  commercial  institutions;  and  the  more  im- 
portant departments  of  business  shoidd  receive  appropriate 
recognition. 

In  the  studies  of  business  organization,  referred  to  above,^ 
we  saw  that  a  large  portion  of  business  may  be  called  com- 
petitive, i.e.,  buying  and  selling.    In  the  study  of  the  depart- 

*  Pages  no,  III. 


Commercial  High  Schools  137 

ment  store  organization  we  saw  that  forty  per  cent  of  the 
whole  force  are  employed  in  the  active,  creative  function  ' 
of  business.     Commercial  schools  must  train  for  this  need. 
Clerical  training  does  not  train  for  the  buying  and  selling  of 
goods. 

BUSINESS  MEN   HAVE  NOT  SEEN   THEIR  RESPONSIBILITIES 

Again,  commercial  education  must  establish  working  re-  ^' 
lations  with  business  houses  —  a  partnership  in  which  each 
does  its  share,  the  school  in  giving  proper  theory,  and  the 
business  house  in  offering  opportunities  for  practice.  The 
problem  of  proper  commercial  education  will  not  be  solved 
until  the  business  man  admits  and  assumes  his  responsibil- 
ity in  the  matter.  Cooperative  arrangements  are  no  more 
impossible  in  connection  with  business  houses  than  in  con- 
nection with  factories,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  the 
manufacturer  should  show  recognition  of  responsibility 
to  the  extent  of  shouldering  part  of  the  burden  of  educa- 
tion and  the  business  man  expect  the  state  to  assume  the 
whole  function.  In  fact,  there  is  but  one  philosophy  of 
vocational  education:  differences  should  be  found  only  in 
details. 

Because  the  public  school  has  hitherto  assumed  the 
sole  burden  of  commercial  education,  commerce  has  felt 
no  responsibility  for  it.  But  the  experience  in  vocational 
(industrial)  education  points  strongly  to  the  general  con- 
clusion that  the  school  unaided  cannot  deal  effectively  with 
the  problem  (see  Dr.  Schneider's  report).  Business  men 
will  need  to  go  through  the  evolution  of  thought  which  is 
leading  the  manufacturer  to  assume  his  share  in  industrial 
education.  For  reasons  of  efficiency,  expense,  and  expe- 
diency, commercial  training  will  need  to  be  divided  between 
the  school  and  the  business  house.  Business,  like  industry, 
formerly  had  a  system  of  apprenticeship  which  will  need  to 
be  reestablished  in  some  form  of  cooperation  with  the 
schools.    In  the  meantime  the  schools  must  not  wait ;  a  plan 


138  Commercial  Education 

which  is  immediately  possible  must  be  undertaken ;  and  prac- 
tical cooperation  between  the  school  and  business  must  be 
constantly  aimed  at. 


DIFFICULTIES   IN    THE   WAY   OF   BETTER    COMMERCIAL 
COURSES 

It  is  true  that  trained  teachers  and  suitable  textbooks  are 
not  now  available,  that  we  have  no  satisfactory  standards 
of  work.  There  never  will  be  these  teachers  nor  the  essen- 
tial means  of  instruction  unless  we  make  a  beginning,  and 
we  have  too  long  delayed  the  attempt.  Five  years  ago  the 
materials  of  industrial  education  were  unorganized,  and 
no  teachers  were  available.  The  energy  of  states  and  in- 
dividuals has  done  much  in  the  short  intervening  time; 
a  markedly  successful  beginning  has  been  made,  and  the 
essential  materials  for  effective  industrial  education  are 
beginning  to  appear.  A  vigorous  beginning  of  improved 
commercial  education  is  equally  possible  in  the  next  five 
years.  The  important  thing  is  the  conviction  that  the  com- 
mercial education  we  now  have  must  be  thoroughly  reor- 
ganized and  improved. 


NEWER   TYPES   OF   COMMERCIAL   SCHOOLS  —  HIGH 
SCHOOLS   OF    COMMERCE 

The  creation  of  high  schools  of  commerce  in  the  large 
cities  of  the  country  shows  a  beginning  of  the  realization  of 
the  principles  maintained  in  this  report.  Unfortunately, 
these  schools,  as  a  rule,  have  not  broken  away  from  the 
clerical  traditions  which  have  obsessed  commercial  educa- 
tion. In  the  following  pages  we  present  two  courses  of 
study  which  are  suggestive  of  what  is  needed. 


Commercial  High  Schools  139 
Course  of  Study  for  a  Boys'  Commercial  School 

(4  years) 

FIRST  YEAR 

Periods  per        Periods  per 
Week  of  Home         Week  of 
Preparation         Recitation 

English  (related)  *..... 4  5 

Commercial  German,  or  Spanish,  or  French  (to  be 
pursued  for  four  years;   to  be  selected  after  one 

month  in  school) 4  5 

Penmanship,    ist    half;     Business    Knowledge    and 

Practice,  2d  half 4  5 

Physical  Geography,^  %  of  year;  Physics/  ^  of  year       4  5 

Mathematics  (Commercial) 4  5 

Assembly  (talks  by  business  men)     i 

20  36 

No  electives. 

SECOND  YEAR 

English  (related)  * 4  5 

A  Modem  Language.    (See  ist  year) 4  5 

Bookkeeping 4  5 

General  History,^  %  year;  Commercial  Geography, 

Kyear 4  5 

Mathematics  (Commercial) 4  5 

Assembly  (talks  by  business  men)     i 

20  26 

No  electives. 

THIRD  YEAR 

English  (related)  * 4  5 

A  Modem  Language.     (See  ist  year) 4  5 

Chemistry  (Commercial) 4  5 

Typewriting I 

Assembly  (talks  by  business  men)     i 

Economic  History 4  5 

Local  Industries 2 

16  23 

*  These  general  subjects  are  understood  in  each  case  to  be  treated  in  rela- 
tion to  commerce. 


140  Commercial  Education 

Periods  per  Periods  per 

Week  of  Home  Week  of 

Preparation  Recitation 
Elective  —  One  of  the  following  subjects  required: 

Bookkeeping 4  5 

Stenography  and  Typewriting  (to  be  pursued  2  years)      5  6 

Plane  Geometry 4  5 

Advanced  Commercial  Arithmetic  (Special  Com- 
mercial Problems) 4  S 

Drawing  (Commercial  Design) 3 

FOURTH  YEAR 

English,  ist  half  (related);    Civil  Government,  3d 

quarter;    Commercial  Procedure,^  last  quarter    .    .     4  5 

A  Modern  Language.    (See  ist  year) 4  5 

Economics 4  S 

Bookkeeping,  unless  taken  3d  year  as  elective  (in- 
cluding Arithmetic  and  Penmanship  review)  ...       4  5 

Assembly i 

Lectures  by  business  men,  Advertising,  Salesman- 
ship, South  America,  Business  Procedure,  Eco- 
nomic Resources  of  the  United  States 2 

16  23 

Elective  —  One  of  the  following  subjects  required: 

Merchandise,  Salesmanship,  Business  Organization    .       4  5 

Bookkeeping,  Accounting 4  5 

Stenography  and  T3T)ewriting  (continuous  elective)  .       5  6 

Chemistry,  Applications  to  Commerce      4  5 

Drawing  (Commercial  Design) 3 

The  above  course  of  study  is  not  offered  as  a  finality, 
but  as  one  that  is  practicable  under  present  conditions  and 
promises  a  possibility  of  development  away  from  the  cleri- 
cal instruction  of  the  past  toward  training  for  the  larger  as- 
pects of  business  activity.  In  the  course  of  time  the  group 
(fourth  year)  named  "lectures,  etc.,"  should  grow  to  a 
more  defined  subject  given  the  full  time  during  the  fourth 

*  Such  aspects  of  commercial  law  as  may  be  valuable  and  comprehensible 
to  students  of  high  school  age. 


Commercial  High  Schools  141 

year.  This  course  of  study  does  not  compel  exclusive  at- 
tention to  clerical  subjects,  though  there  is  opportunity  by 
means  of  electives  for  boys  to  get  as  good  clerical  training 
as  has  been  offered  in  the  past.  The  general  tendency  of 
the  course  is  to  direct  the  boys'  attention  toward  the  active, 
competitive  side  of  business.  By  means  of  electives  in  the 
fourth  year,  opportunity  is  given  to  specialize  in  one  of  the 
three  major  functions  of  business,  viz.,  merchandising,  ac- 
counting, secretarial  work.  Along  with  the  pursuit  of  the 
above  outlined  course  all  students  should  undertake  appren- 
ticeship work  in  stores ;  they  should  be  employed  on  Satur- 
days, Mondays,  during  holidays,  or  by  means  of  some 
other  part-time  arrangement.  Theory  without  practice  is 
unprofitable. 

Cooperative  Arrangements  Between  Schools  and 
Business  Houses 

We  recommend  the  beginning  of  cooperative  plans  be- 
tween commercial  schools  and  business  houses.  We  present 
no  argument  for  the  desirability  of  such  cooperation  be- 
cause objections  are  not  so  apt  to  arise  over  its  desirability 
as  over  its  practicability.  Successful  experiments  are  now 
carried  on,  e.g.,  in  Boston,  where  boys  work  during  the  long 
vacation  period,  on  Saturdays,  and  during  the  Christmas  and 
Easter  holidays.  The  definite  week-and-week  plan  charac- 
terizing industrial  education  has  not  been  widely  attempted. 
It  is  probable  that  commercial  education  will  find  some  other 
arrangement  more  profitable.  The  best  plan  can  be  discov- 
ered only  by  experiment,  and  experiment  should  begin.  No 
one  has  attempted  yet,  apparently,  a  part-time  plan  for  girls ; 
the  difiiculties  here  are  probably  not  greater  than  for  boys, 
and  the  need  of  such  a  plan  will  become  increasingly 
apparent. 

For  a  girls'  clerical  course  we  commend  the  one  found 
in  the  Washington  Irving  High  School  as  most  effective. 
This  course  has  the  advantage  of  concentration  upon  voca- 


142  Commercial  Education 

tional  subjects  in  the  second  and  third  years.  The  course 
can  be  improved  by  requiring  general  subjects  to  be  related 
to  the  vocation.  Exemption  from  regents'  examinations 
would  make  this  easily  possible. 

Washington  Irving  High  School 

Course  of  Study  of  Three  Years 

FIRST  YEAR 

Required  Periods 

English 5 

Commercial  Arithmetic 5 

German,  or   French,  or  Spanish,  or  Group  II,  or  Group  III,  of 

second  year,  and  additional  drawing 5 

Drawing 2 

Domestic  Science  and  Art 5 

Physical  Training,  including  Physiology  and  Hygiene 2 

Music I 

Declamation  and  Voice  Training i 

26 

SECOND   YEAR 

Required  Periods 

English      5 

Physical  Training 2 

Music I 

Declamation  and  Voice  Training      i 

Drawing 2 


The  Modem  Language  chosen  in  the  first  year  may  be  continued  during 
the  second  and  third  years  as  an  alternative  for  Music,  Declamation,  and 
Drawing  in  the  case  of  those  who  select  Group  I,  Group  IV,  Group  V,  and 
Group  VI. 

Second  and  Third  Years 
(Stenographers  and  Typewriters) 
Stenography,  Typewriting,  Bookkeeping,  Penmanship,  Spelling,  Office 
Practice 19 

THIRD  YEAR 

Same  as  Second 


Commercial  High  Schools  143 

Merchandise  and  Salesmanship  for  Girls 

We  recommend  that  a  course  of  study  similar  to  the 
above  with  the  subjects  merchandise  and  salesmanship  as  a 
vocational  group  be  established  in  connection  with  the  Wash- 
ington Irving  High  School.  The  school,  by  reason  of  its 
location  in  the  business  district,  seems  to  offer  a  favorable 
opportunity  for  such  an  experiment.  A  large  number  of 
girls  find  employment  as  salesgirls ;  this  employment  prom- 
ises opportunities  of  comparative  attractiveness.^  The  fail- 
ure of  the  school  system  to  supply  education  for  the  training 
of  salespeople  has  compelled  large  retail  stores  to  institute 
schools  of  their  own,  e.g.,  John  Wanamaker.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  the  stores  would  enter  into  a  cooperative  plan 
with  the  schools,  whereby  this  training  could  be  more  effec- 
tively carried  on. 

Separation  of  the  Sexes  in  Commercial  Education 

We  recommend,  in  general  high  schools,  the  segregation 
of  the  commercial  pupils  into  a  commercial  department. 
This  department  should  reproduce  as  nearly  as  possible  the 
separate  special  commercial  schools,  and  the  sexes  should 
be  separated  for  efficiency  and  for  vocational  reasons.  The 
boys  should  pursue  a  course  as  nearly  as  possible  like  that 
of  the  best  special  commercial  schools  for  boys,  and  the  girls 
should  be  given  a  course  founded  upon  the  best  models  for 
girls.  The  city  of  Cleveland  has  a  high  school  of  commerce 
for  boys  and  girls ;  but  the  sexes  pursue  different  courses, 
each  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  sex.^  There  is  no  more  rea- 
son for  the  same  courses  for  boys  and  girls  in  commerce 
than  there  is  for  the  same  courses  for  boys  and  girls  in  in- 
dustry. One  of  the  city  high  schools  (Bryant)  is  following 
a  plan  of  segregation  like  the  plan  recommended  above.^ 

1  Bulletin  No.  lo,  Girls'  Trade  Education  League,  6  Beacon  Street,  Boston. 

2  Further  information  contradicts  this  statement.    See  Chapter  I,  page  7. 
^  See  page  119. 


144  Commercial  Education 


Elective  Commercial  Courses 

The  question  has  been  raised  as  to  whether  or  not  pupils 
taking  general  courses  without  a  particular  objective  should 
be  allowed  to  take  incidental  commercial  courses  —  such  as 
a  year  in  bookkeeping.  As  long  as  the  principle  of  election 
in  high  schools  is  maintained,  it  will  be  illogical  to  deny 
such  privilege.  An  incidental  commercial  course  taken  in 
high  school  does  not  mean  commercial  training;  a  pupil 
with  this  equipment  offering  himself  to  a  business  house  as 
a  product  of  specialized  training  will  damage  the  cause  of 
commercial  education.  Undoubtedly  much  of  the  criticism 
of  business  men  on  commercial  schools  has  been  due  to  ex- 
perience with  such  inadequately  trained  boys  and  girls.  It 
is  evident  that  a  boy  who  has  pursued  a  course  or  two  in 
manual  training  is  not  fitted  for  industry,  and  it  is  equally 
evident  that  a  commercial  subject  or  two  does  not  fit  for 
commerce.  Our  general  recommendation  for  specialization, 
for  segregation,  and  for  concentration  suggests  a  general 
modification  of  the  elective  system  in  high  schools ;  but  we 
will  not  press  this  point  further  than  to  state  that  vocational 
education  cannot  be  effectively  undertaken  under  the  prin- 
ciple of  election  of  studies  as  generally  applied  today. 

Evening  mid  Continuation  Schools 

A  report  on  the  efficiency  of  commercial  education  would 
be  incomplete  if  it  did  not  deal  with  the  problem  of  evening 
and  continuation  commercial  instruction.  An  excellent  ex- 
position and  summary  of  this  subject  was  made  by  Dr.  John 
L.  Tildsley,  principal  of  the  DeWitt  Clinton  High  School, 
in  an  address  before  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce.^ Mr.  Tildsley  quotes  Mr.  Chatfield's  figures,  show- 
ing that  there  are  400,000  boys  and  girls  between  the  ages 
of  fourteen  and  eighteen  in  New  York,  of  whom  less  than 
150,000  are  enrolled  in  schools,  public  and  private.    Approx- 

1  Monthly  Bulletin,  Chamber  of  Commerce,  March,  191 2. 


Commercial  High  Schools  145 

imately  250,000  boys  and  girls  are  not  under  day  school 
influence,  and  it  is  certain  that  the  major  portion  of  the 
number  do  not  attend  evening  schools.  A  very  large  part 
of  this  total  of  250,000  could  profit  by  commercial  instruc- 
tion. The  City  Superintendent  of  Schools  advised  ^  the  sub- 
stitution of  day  continuation  schools  for  the  present  evening 
schools  affecting  children  coming  under  the  compulsory 
attendance  law.  This  suggestion  is  in  entire  accord  with 
our  recommendations,  but  we  desire  to  emphasize  the  fact 
that  day  continuation  schools  should  be  planned  to  include 
those  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen,  and  that 
evening  schools  be  made  available  for  all  over  eighteen. 
This  plan  has  proved  practicable  in  Germany  and  seems 
easier  of  control  and  organization  than  any  other  plan. 

Mr.  Tildsley  recommended  that  commercial  continuation 
schools  should  be  conducted  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 
Here  we  differ.  Education  has  grown  to  be  a  function  of 
the  state  —  not  only  traditional  education,  but  all  education 
which  is  necessary  for  the  welfare  and  benefit  of  the  state. 
Continuation  schools  of  all  kinds  promise  to  be  effective  and 
integral  parts  of  the  general  educational  machinery.  Pub- 
lic opinion  has  not  in  the  past  recognized  the  now  evidently 
enlarged  scope  of  public  education.  Conviction  of  the  need 
of  continuation  schools  is  growing,  and  support  and  expan- 
sion will  necessarily  follow.  Cities  of  this  country  are  un- 
dertaking the  problem  of  continuation  schools  with  success 
and  promise  —  witness  Boston  and  Cincinnati. 

Commercial  education  in  the  evening  schools  of  New 
York  has  long  been  carried  on.  Large  numbers  of  pupils  ^ 
are  enrolled,  and  the  success  attained  has  been  such  as  to 
justify,  with  our  recommendations  as  to  continuation 
schools,  the  retention  and  expansion  of  the  work.  Mr. 
Tildsley  ^  mentions  some  of  the  obstacles  of  evening  schools 
as  follows :   "  The  greatest  obstacle  to  the  success  of  even- 

*  Monthly  Bulletin,  Chamber  of  Commerce,  March,  191 2. 

*  Report  of  the  City  Superintendent  of  Schools,  191 1,  pages  140-142. 

*  Chamber  of  Commerce  Bulletin,  March,  191 2. 


146  Commercial  Education 

ing  school  work  in  this  city  is  the  great  fluctuation  in  the 
attendance  of  the  pupils.  Our  business  hours  are  long; 
the  distances  to  be  traveled  great.  The  will  power  neces- 
sary to  induce  pupils  to  attend  evening  courses  on  four 
nights  a  week  for  one  hundred  and  twenty  nights,  from  eight 
to  ten  o'clock,  is  found  only  in  the  exceptional  boy.  Busi- 
ness education  cannot  thrive  on  a  forty  per  cent  basis  of 
attendance  of  those  registered." 

A  thorough  investigation  of  the  evening  schools  could 
not  be  undertaken  by  us,  but  a  brief  discussion  of  evening 
commercial  instruction  is  appropriate  in  this  report. 

Commercial  work  in  evening  schools  in  New  York  City 
is  quite  similar  to  that  in  other  large  American  cities.  The 
work  is  almost  wholly  clerical  and  without  most  of  the 
liberal  features  found  in  day-school  courses.  There  is  a 
lack  of  gradation  of  students  with  respect  to  age,  previous 
attainment,  and  capacity,  a  condition  which  makes  for  in- 
effectiveness and  loss  of  membership.  As  is  usual  in  even- 
ing schools  throughout  the  country,  there  is  found  a  consid- 
erable proportion  of  pupils  who  come  with  serious  purpose, 
with  a  realization  of  their  needs,  and  with  an  ambition  for 
improvement;  but  this  class  forms  the  winnowing  from 
the  chaff,  for  the  major  portion  of  evening  school  pupils 
do  not  remain  and  do  not  profit  in  considerable  measure  by 
the  instruction  offered. 

Improvement  can  come  by  a  closer  adaptation  of  the 
work  to  the  needs  of  pupils.  The  establishment  of  continu- 
ation schools,  recommended  above,  would  be  of  substantial 
advantage  toward  better  gradation.  The  principles  of  the 
specialization  of  work  for  closer  adaptation  of  courses  to 
commercial  needs  is  no  less  essential  in  evening  commercial 
schools  than  in  day  commercial  schools.  Again,  the  analogy 
of  industrial  evening  schools  is  suggestive.  One  state  ^  re- 
stricts attendance  upon  evening  classes  to  those  over  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  who  are  employed  during  the  day  in  in- 

*  Bulletin  No.  3,  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Education,  191 1. 


Commercial  High  Schools  147 

dustries  to  which  evening  courses  are  closely  related.  The 
strongest  features  of  the  plan  are  the  subdivisions  of  the 
courses  which  meet  specifically  the  needs  of  the  varied 
groups  of  industrial  workers. 

The  present  undifferentiated  and  wholesale  method  of 
commercial  instruction  carried  on  in  evening  schools  forms 
an  example  of  ineffectiveness  in  marked  contrast  to  the  plan 
above  suggested,  which  emphasizes  individual  needs. 

Proposed  Evening  Commercial  Course  in  the  High 
School  of  Commerce 

A  course  which  promises  substantial  improvement  for 
one  class  of  commercial  workers  has  been  proposed  by  Prin- 
cipal Sheppard  of  the  High  School  of  Commerce.  The  aim 
of  the  proposed  course  is  to  supplement  the  work  done  in 
day  commercial  courses  by  offering  advanced  work  similar 
to  that  of  higher  schools  of  commerce,  such  as  the  Wharton 
School  of  Philadelphia,  or  the  New  York  School  of  Com- 
merce, Accounts,  and  Finance.  The  course  promises  oppor- 
tunity for  training  for  fundamental  business  needs  and  does 
not  restrict  work  to  the  clerical  arts.  This  course  should  be 
offered  without  delay.  The  needs  for  adequate  commercial 
instruction  will  be  met,  as  we  have  pointed  out,  by  differen- 
tiation of  effort ;  and  the  course  recommended  promises  to 
meet  effectively  the  needs  of  several  large  and  important 
classes  of  commercial  workers. 

Failure  of  the  Public  to  See  the  Need  of  the  Extension  of 
Evening  and  Continuation  Schools 

Any  comprehensive  conception  of  the  larger  problem  of 
supplementary  education,  whether  in  evening  or  in  continu- 
ation schools,  whether  for  industrial  workers  or  for  com- 
mercial workers,  does  not  at  present  exist  in  this  country.^ 

*  Principal  Tildsley  has  pointed  out  this  fact  in  the  following  terms:  "In 
this  country  we  have  not  begun  to  realize  the  importance  of  this  work.    We 


148  Commercial  Education 

In  New  York  there  are  10,000  commercial  pupils  in  day- 
schools,  a  somewhat  smaller  number  in  evening  schools  ^  — 
a  total  which  forms  an  insignificant  figure  when  compared 
with  the  possible  number  of  persons  who  enter  commerce 
each  year,  and  who  could  profit  by  commercial  instruction 
of  some  kind.  In  the  country  at  large,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  we  spend  large  sums  for  education,  we  have  scarcely 
progressed  beyond  the  ideal  of  literacy  in  education;  that 
is,  a  conviction  that  each  individual  should  know  how  to 
read  and  write  and  perform  simple  numerical  operations. 
We  have  not  yet  come  to  the  efficiency  ideal  of  education, 
i.e.,  the  ideal  that  each  individual  should  be  rendered  as 
competent  as  possible  through  training.  Our  compulsory 
education  law  shows  this,  for  we  compel  none  to  attend 
school  after  fourteen ;  ^  we  have  no  compulsory  continua- 
tion schools  except  in  Ohio  and  Wisconsin,  for  those  who 
have  entered  business  or  industry.  A  large  expansion  of 
many  forms  of  applied  education,  involving  day,  continua- 
tion, and  evening  schools,  will  be  necessary  before  it  can  be 
said  that  we  are  dealing  with  the  issue  in  a  way  at  all  com- 
mensurate with  its  importance.  When  we  really  begin  a 
comprehensive  program  of  procedure,  we  must  deal  with 
both  industrial  and  commercial  education  by  the  same  meth- 
ods, because  there  is  fundamentally  but  one  problem  to  be 
solved. 

have  nothing  to  offer  in  comparison  with  the  work  done  abroad.  The  Board 
of  Estimate  of  this  city  groans  over  the  sum  spent  for  evening  schools.  This 
year  it  has  refused  to  increase  the  appropriations  for  the  growth  of  these  schools, 
and  it  has  cut  out  an  appropriation  of  $15,000  for  opening  evening  sessions  of 
the  High  School  of  Commerce.  Munich,  in  1906,  with  a  population  of  half  a 
million,  spent  $275,000  for  continuation  schools  of  all  kinds.  New  York  spent 
last  year  $700,000.  If  it  had  appreciated  the  importance  of  this  field  of  civic 
activity  as  did  Munich,  it  would  have  spent  over  two  and  a  half  millions." 
—  Chamber  of  Commerce  Bulletin,  March,  191 2. 

*  City  Superintendent's  Report  191 1,  pages  140-142. 

*  Persons  in  New  York  State  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  not  employed 
are  required  to  attend  day  school. 


Commercial  High  Schools  149 

One-Year  and  Two-Year  Commercial  Courses 

Returning  to  the  day  school  problem,  we  recommend  as 
instances  of  proper  differentiation  commercial  courses  of 
one  year  and  of  two  years,  in  addition  to  the  three-year  and 
four-year  courses  now  offered.  Those  who  cannot  attend 
for  the  longer  period  should  have  the  best  possible  oppor- 
tunities accessible  to  them.  The  need  of  shorter  courses 
has  been  appreciated  by  the  New  York  High  School 
Teachers'  Association,  and  set  forth  specifically  in  the  report 
of  the  association  (1910-1911)  :  ^ 

"  Many  of  the  boys  must  necessarily  leave  a  school 
of  this  sort  before  the  end  of  the  course.  It  should 
then  be  planned  so  that  certain  results  should  be  accom- 
plished at  definite  stages.  This  need  not  be  placed  be- 
fore the  boy  in  a  way  that  will  tend  to  encourage  him 
to  leave  before  the  necessity  really  arises.  The  par- 
ticular aim  of  the  first  year  should  be  to  make  good 
office  boys;  of  the  second,  to  make  capable  clerical 
assistants;  of  the  third  year,  to  make  efficient  stenog- 
raphers. The  object  of  the  fourth  year  is  to  help  the 
boy  locate  himself  in  the  special  field  of  commerce  and 
industry  that  he  has  selected." 

Courses  with  specific  objectives  are  to  be  commended,  but 
we  cannot  agree  that  the  proper  aims  have  been  stated  in  the 
above  recommendations,  especially  for  the  second  and  third 
years.  Facts  have  been  presented  in  this  report  showing 
that  other  aims  for  boys  are  more  appropriate  (pages  115, 
116). 

Intermediate  Schools  and  Commercial  Courses 

Elsewhere  will  be  found  a  report  on  the  intermediate 
school    (Dr.   Bachman's  report).^     Many  pupils  entering 

^  High  School  Teachers'  Association,  1910-1911.  Sub-committee  on  a 
Preparatory  Course  for  boys  entering  commercial  life,  pages  85-86. 

2  This  report  also  is  published  as  a  part  of  the  School  Efl&ciency  Series. 


150  Commercial  Education 

intermediate  schools  will  pursue  studies  which  will  lead 
to  commercial  occupations  as  an  outlet.  Some  pupils  will 
not  continue  their  education  longer  than  the  period  com- 
prised in  this  type  of  school,  and  others  will  continue  one 
or  more  years  in  the  high  school  commercial  courses.  It  will 
be  highly  important,  in  case  intermediate  schools  with  com- 
mercial courses  are  established,  that  commercial  instruction 
appropriate  to  the  age,  capacity,  and  vocational  needs  of  the 
pupils  be  determined.  What  this  will  prove  to  be  we  are 
not  prepared  to  state.  Subsequent  investigations  must  deal 
with  this  important  question;  but  we  do  recommend  that 
special  "field"  studies  into  actual  business  conditions  be  an 
important  element  of  any  plans  that  may  be  adopted. 

Need  of  a  Special  Commercial  School  in  Jamaica 

While  investigating  commercial  courses  in  the  Jamaica 
and  Richmond  Hill  high  schools,  the  attention  of  the  in- 
vestigator was  directed  to  a  recommendation  of  one  of  the 
principals  that  a  special  commercial  high  school  should  be 
located  at  some  point  convenient  to  both  districts,  into  which 
the  commercial  pupils  of  each  school  could  be  collected.  We 
approve  this  recommendation,  believing,  as  the  general  tenor 
of  our  report  indicates,  that  specialization,  segregation,  and 
concentration  make  for  increased  efficiency  in  all  lines  of 
vocational  work. 

SUMMARY   AND   RECOMMENDATIONS 

1.  The  contemporary  conception  of  commercial  education 
in  New  York  City  should  be  largely  expanded,  and  should 
emphasize  the  larger  and  more  important  aspects  of  com- 
mercial activities,  such  as  merchandising,  salesmanship,  busi- 
ness organization,  and  advertising  (see  pages  115  to  119). 

2.  A  temporary  special  commission  should  be  created  to 
consist  of  commercial  teachers  temporarily  detached  from 
teaching  service,  who  should  cooperate  with  business  ex- 
perts, and  examine  into  business  conditions  in  relation  to 


Commercial  High  Schools  151 

commercial  education.  A  commission  of  this  kind  will  dis- 
cover a  more  adequate  basis  for  commercial  instruction, 
whether  in  day,  evening,  or  in  continuation  schools,  than  the 
city  now  has.  The  partial  studies  presented  in  this  report 
regarding  business  conditions  affecting  commercial  educa- 
tion can  with  profit  be  carried  on  until  clearer  and  more 
positive  conclusions  can  be  reached. 

3.  There  should  be  a  council  of  chairmen  of  commercial 
departments  in  high  schools  to  study,  weigh,  and  recom- 
mend to  the  Department  of  Education  ^  improvements  in 
courses  and  methods  pertaining  to  commercial  education; 
in  other  words,  there  should  be  a  definite  agency,  officially 
recognized,  for  the  organization  and  unification  of  educa- 
tional experience  in  the  field  of  commercial  education. 

4.  The  sexes  in  commercial  courses  should,  wherever  pos- 
sible, be  separated.  The  training  for  each  sex  should  be 
differentiated  in  accordance  with  the  differing  tastes  and 
aptitudes  of  boys  and  girls,  and  the  different  vocational 
demands  which  each  will  meet. 

5.  The  regents'  tests  for  commercial  subjects  and  related 
academic  subjects  should  be  abandoned  to  give  larger  scope 
for  objective  standards  drawn  from  the  business  world 
(see  page  130). 

6.  Teachers  of  academic  subjects  in  commercial  courses 
and  in  special  commercial  schools  should  possess,  either 
through  actual  business  experience  or  through  theoretical 
study,  or  both,  a  knowledge  of  and  a  sympathy  with  the 
proper  ideals  of  commercial  education.  To  this  end  there 
should  be  separate  eligible  lists  for  all  teachers  giving  in- 
struction in  commercial  schools  and  courses  (see  page  129). 

7.  There  should  be  a  supervisor  of  commercial  work  for 
all  grades,  whether  in  intermediate  schools,  evening  and 
continuation  schools,  or  in  day  schools.  There  should  be  a 
unified  policy  throughout  the  whole  range  of  the  work.  The 
divided  attention  of  a  number  of  general  supervisors,  some 

*  Board  of  Superintendents  and  Board  of  Education. 


152  Commercial  Education 

concerned  with  day  schools  and  others  concerned  with  even- 
ing schools,  can  yield  neither  unified  policy  nor  comprehen- 
sive treatment. 

8.  Special  teachers  should  be  appointed  to  act  as  field 
agents  for  commercial  schools  and  courses.  These  teachers 
may  be  called  vocational  assistants  and  should  perform 
duties  in  connection  with  commercial  education  similar  to 
those  of  "  coordinators  "  in  connection  with  industrial  edu- 
cation.    (See  Dean  Schneider's  report.) 

9.  Cooperative  relations  between  commercial  schools  and 
commercial  houses  should  be  sought  and  established. 
Teachers  and  business  men  must  unite  upon  a  common  plan. 
That  New  York  City  business  men  realize  the  importance 
of  such  cooperation  is  shown  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
in  appointing  a  special  committee  on  commercial  education. 
Other  commercial  bodies  should  adopt  a  similar  policy. 
Business  men  must  share  the  burden  of  education  with  the 
state,  and  must  share  this  burden  in  a  direct  way  by  giving 
opportunity  for  participation  in  practice  during  the  period 
of  school  training.  Advisory  committees  of  business  men 
(with  advisory  functions  only)  should  be  established  to 
guide  and  counsel  commercial  schools  on  the  one  hand,  and, 
on  the  other,  to  awaken  business  men  generally  to  a  sense 
of  their  responsibilities  with  respect  to  commercial  educa- 
tion. It  is  only  by  an  equal  partnership  of  the  schoolmaster 
and  the  business  man  that  the  problem  can  be  solved  in  a 
comprehensive  and  effective  way.  Up  to  the  present  time 
the  schoolmaster  has  borne  more  than  his  share  in  the 
attempted  solution  of  the  problem. 


Appendix 


APPENDIX 

LETTERS  RECEIVED  FROM  NEW  YORK  BUSI- 
NESS MEN  IN  ANSWER  TO  QUESTIONS  SUB- 
MITTED IN  CONNECTION  WITH  THE  NEW 
YORK   SCHOOL   INQUIRY  ^ 

Question  One 

In  the  selection  or  promotion  of  your  employees  in  any  de- 
partment of  your  business,  do  you  set  any  educational  stand- 
ards, such  as  graduation  from  grammar  school,  high  school, 
or  college,  as  a  requisite  for  employment  ?    To  what  extent  ? 

Answers  to  Question  One 

"  As  a  rule  we  select  them  from  High  School  pupils." 

"  Graduation  from  grammar  school." 

"  We  do  not  require  our  employees  to  be  graduates,  but  prefer 
they  should  be." 

"  No." 

"  No." 

"  No,  but  from  experience  believe  we  should." 

*'  No." 

"  No,  but  we  prefer  school  or  college  graduates." 

"  Graduation  from  Grammar  School  is  a  requisite.  We  have 
a  preference  for  High  School  graduates  —  especially  Com- 
mercial High  School.  A  course  in  a  good  business  college 
is  a  distinct  advantage." 

"  No." 

"  In  the  employment  of  young  men  in  any  department  of  our 
business  we  do  not  set  any  specific  educational  standards 
but  much  prefer  that  they  should  be  graduates  of  gram- 
mar school,  high  school,  or  college." 

1  The  answers  have  not  been  edited  as  to  style,  capitalization,  etc.,  so 
that  the  evidence  may  appear  in  its  original  form. 

155 


156  Commercial  Education 

"  Certain  positions  in  our  Company  require  more  education 
than  others,  and  to  this  extent  inquiry  is  made  as  to  for- 
mer schooling." 

"  We  have  no  exact  educational  standards.  We  examine  appli- 
cants in  Elementary  Arithmetic  and  Spelling.  Naturally, 
we  give  preference  to  applicants  with  the  best  educational 
equipment,  but  very  often  our  beginners  (boys  of  sixteen 
or  seventeen,  girls  of  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  of  age) 
have  only  a  grammar  school  training." 

"  No." 

"  No.  Each  applicant  stands  on  his  own  merits,  but  it  goes 
without  saying  that  a  well  educated  young  man  always  has 
the  preference." 

"  No  educational  standards  are  set  in  regard  to  my  factory 
employees.  Office  employees,  however,  are  required  to 
have  had  at  least  a  grammar  school  training." 

"  We  do  not  set  a  positive  standard  as  the  personality  is  of 
more  importance  than  the  standard.  We  give  decided 
preference  to  the  educated  applicant." 

"  No,  but  applicants  for  employment  on  the  clerical  force  of  the 
New  York  Life  Insurance  Company  are  required  to  pass 
an  examination." 

"  We  take  our  employees  generally  at  a  young  age,  after  hav- 
ing graduated  from  Grammar  School  and  give  them  the 
opportunity  to  work  up." 

"  In  our  engineering  work,  and  in  the  more  technical  kinds  of 
work  involved  in  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  the 
telephone  plant  and  in  the  management  of  the  forces  who 
handle  the  traffic,  we  aim  to  have  men  graduated  from 
college  engineering  courses. 

"  It  might  be  well  to  explain  that  we  maintain  schools 
for  splicers,  instrument  setters,  inspectors,  operators,  and 
salesmen,  where  employees  are  carefully  trained  in  these 
respective  lines  of  work." 

"  For  Junior  and  Minor  positions  we  give  practical  tests  in 
arithmetic  as  to  quickness  and  accuracy  in  figuring,  hand- 
writing as  to  form  and  legibility,  judging  both  as  to  neat- 
ness of  work,  as  well  as  correctness  and  expedition.  Gen- 
erally we  have  found  graduates  of  the  ordinary  public 
school  more  proficient  than  those  coming  from  the  so- 
called  parochial  schools." 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     157 

"  For  certain  specialized  work,  graduation  from  or  training  in 
the  higher  scholastic  grades  is  preferred  or  necessary.  It 
is,  of  course,  difficult  to  state  any  fixed  educational  stand- 
ard in  the  employment  of  men,  as  no  organization  can, 
with  success,  limit  itself  to  the  employment  of  those  meet- 
ing such  standards.  For  ordinary  work  or  in  the  employ- 
ment or  promotion  of  younger  people,  the  grammar  and 
high  school  graduations  are  not  necessary,  although 
preferred." 

"  Upon  engaging  boys  we  make  it  a  point  to  get  active  and 
trustworthy  ones  who  can  write  English  correctly." 

"  Yes.  Preference  given  to  men  trained  in  European  Commer- 
cial School  and  American  High  Schools  or  Colleges." 

"  Yes,  excepting.* 

"  *  College  education  we  find  detrimental  in  busiijess. 
Too  conceited  and  unwilling  to  commence  at  the  lower 
round  and  learn  the  business." 

"  No." 

"  Only  in  exceptional  cases  do  members  of  the  Firm  make 
engagements. 

"  Our  records  would  not  give  information  in  regard  to 
Educational  Standards. 

"  Juniors  are  engaged  by  reason  of  personal  appearance, 
aptness,  and  general  intelligence.  It  often  happens  that 
graduates  are  not  as  bright,  nor  as  intelligent,  nor  as  adapt- 
able as  those  who  have  not  graduated." 

"  Where  possible,  we  give  preference  to  applicants  who  have 
had  a  High  School  or  College  education." 

'*  We  require  graduation  from  public  schools  and  give  pref- 
erence to  high  school  and  college  graduates,  because  we 
believe  that  the  additional  years  of  schooling  give  them 
a  better  foundation  on  which  to  build." 

"  Grammar  School,  preferably  High  School ;  college  gradu- 
ates, as  a  rule,  will  not  stay.  (Chief  essentials :  Penman- 
ship, grammar,  spelling,  mathematics.)" 

"  I  prefer  high  school  graduates,  as  such  graduates  are  at  about 
the  age  where  they  are  willing  to  adopt  our  business 
methods,  and  are  not  too  old  to  be  willing  to  begin  at  the 
foot  of  the  ladder." 

"  Other  things  being  equal,  we  select  men  with  such  technical 


158  Commercial  Education 

education  as  tends  to  fit  them  for  the  special  line  of  work 
which  they  choose." 

"  No." 

"  General  intelligence  and  personality." 

"  The  applicant  must  of  course  make  satisfactory  showing  of 
necessary  qualifications  for  the  position  sought.  If  he 
is  a  junior  his  address  and  appearance  of  intelligence  are 
my  guides,  assisted  by  information  as  to  the  education  he 
has  had.  It  is  indispensable  that  he  be  well  grounded  in 
the  three  R's." 

"  Although  I  regret  to  say  that  business  men  generally  make 
little  distinction  when  they  engage  boys  in  the  lowest 
capacity,  errand  boys  and  runners  (at  five  or  six  dollars  a 
week),  still  if  they  have  had  a  good  grammar  school  edu- 
cation and  graduated,  they  can  more  readily  find  places 
and  promotion  generally  more  likely." 

"  No." 

"  Applicants  are  always  asked  for  details  as  to  their  education, 
but  we  have  no  fixed  standard  for  a  requisite." 

"  No." 

"  No  arbitrary  rules.  For  our  selling  force  we  endeavor  to 
secure  such  men  as  have  had  training  in  chemistry." 


Question  Two 

Do  you  encourage  employees  to  continue  their  education, 
either  by  attendance  upon  night  schools  or  by  any  other  means  ? 
By  what  methods? 

Answers  to  Question  Two 

"  We  advise  it,  but  do  not  insist." 

"  By  advice  and  otherwise." 

"  In  employing  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  we  en- 
courage their  attendance  upon  night  school,  particularly  if 
they  have  not  graduated  from  the  Grammar-school." 

"  We  make  no  special  efforts  in  this  direction." 

"  Yes." 

"  When  we  find  a  young  man  with  proper  ambitions  we  do  all 
we  can  to  encourage  him  to  advance  his  education." 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     159 

"  Night  schools." 

"  Yes,  by  advice,  however,  only." 

"  Yes,  in  a  general  way." 

"  No." 

"  We  are  always  desirous  that  our  employees  should,  as  far  as 
possible,  continue  their  education  either  by  attendance  at 
night  school  or  private  instruction." 

"  The  Company  as  a  whole  does  not.  Sometimes  individual 
heads  of  departments  may  do  so.  The  Company  approves 
of  its  employees  continuing  their  education." 

"  Employees  are  encouraged  to  attend  night  schools  and  be- 
ginners are  often  advised  to  do  so.  The  clerks  encourage 
themselves,  as  the  value  of  an  education  is  very  keenly 
felt  in  the  strife  for  advancement  in  position.  We  have 
encouraged  attendance  upon  University  Extension 
Courses,  and  have  a  number  of  clerks  pursuing  studies 
especially  in  Actuarial  Mathematics  and  in  Accounting. 

"  To  more  exactly  meet  the  needs  of  employees,  we  have 
established  classes  in  English  (Grammar  and  Correspond- 
ence), in  Arithmetic  and  in  Algebra.  The  English  classes, 
of  which  there  are  three,  each  meeting  for  one  hour  each 
week  for  a  term  of  thirty  weeks,  meet  a  felt  need,  and 
we  have  been  able  to  enroll  less  than  half  the  number 
desiring  to  take  the  Course.  The  teachers  are  specialists 
from  the  Staff  of  the  High  School.  Our  purpose  is  to 
bring  the  trained  teacher  into  contact  with  our  clerks  for 
immediate  practical  benefit." 

"  Yes." 

"  Yes.    Night  Schools." 

"  Employees  are  not  directly  encouraged  in  any  special  manner 
to  continue  their  education,  but,  at  the  same  time,  they  are 
not  discouraged  in  that  regard ;  in  other  words,  *  It 's  up 
to  them.'  " 

"  Yes,  if  there  are  any  employees  with  sufficient  ambition. 
We  have  had  one  or  two  who  pursued  certain  branches 
at  night  school  with  success,  but  they  were  extraordinary 
exceptions.    Few  are  able  or  willing." 

"  The  Company  has  no  general  systematic  method  for  this  pur- 
pose. In  some  parts  of  the  office,  however,  where  the  work 
is  more  or  less  technical,  as  in  the  Actuary's  Department, 


i6o  Commercial  Education 

efforts  have  been  made  for  a  number  of  years  past  to 
encourage  employees  to  devote  their  time,  outside  of  the 
office,  to  studying  Bookkeeping,  the  principles  of  Account- 
ing, Mathematics,  and  Actuarial  science.  Employees  of 
the  Actuary's  Department  who  show  aptitude  are  encour- 
aged to  take  the  examinations  of  the  Actuarial  Society  and 
are  given  assistance  in  such  work." 

"  They  know,  if  they  do  not  continue  to  educate  themselves, 
particularly  in  business  methods,  they  will  have  little 
chance  to  advance." 

"By  the  Company's  schools  referred  to  in  '  i,'  by  the  circula- 
tion of  a  Company  newspaper  '  The  Telephone  Review,' 
and  pi  other  technical  and  business  periodicals,  and  by 
a  society  known  as  '  The  Telephone  Society,'  which  meets 
monthly  to  discuss  various  phases  of  the  business,  the 
employees  of  the  Company  are  encouraged  to  study  vari- 
ous phases  of  the  telephone  business,  and  thus  to  fit  them- 
selves for  advancement  in  the  organization.  There  is  no 
general  attempt  to  encourage  attendance  upon  night 
schools  or  other  outside  classes." 

"  Only  on  occasions  where  the  incumbent  indicates  brightness 
and  ability  which  with  more  and  better  training  would  fit 
him  for  a  higher  position." 

"  The  continuation  of  education  by  employees  is  naturally  en- 
couraged by  suggestion  as  to  courses  of  study  to  fit  them 
for  positions  higher  in  the  organization,  and  by  affording 
them  the  opportunity  of  attending  night  schools  should 
their  duties  not  be  such  as  to  ordinarily  detain  them  to  a 
time  which  would  prevent  their  attendance." 

"  We  urge  them  to  study  and  perfect  themselves  in  German." 

"Look  with  favor  on  many  young  men  who  attend  night 
schools." 

"  Yes,  if  apparently  they  are  ambitious,  otherwise  it  is  useless." 

"  No." 

"  Intelligent  employees,  in  special  cases,  have  been,  and  are, 
encouraged  to  continue  education  by  night  school  and 
sometimes  by  day  school,  and  we  have  in  such  cases  paid 
for  education,  but  it  is  not  part  of  a  system. 

"  For  several  years  we  had  a  school  in  the  store  mainly 
to  teach  Writing,  Spelling,  and  Arithmetic,  but  as  it  was 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     i6i 

not  in  all  respects  satisfactory,  it  has  been  abandoned. 
Cost  was  not  the  serious  consideration. 

"  Everyone  at  present  holding  leading  positions  either  as 
Buyer  or  holding  important  Office  or  other  positions  has 
been  advanced  from  the  ranks. 

"  Merit,  not  educational  standards,  has  been,  and  is  basis 
of  advancement." 

"  We  have  no  particular  method  in  regard  to  encouraging  em- 
ployees to  continue  their  education  after  entering  our  serv- 
ice.   This  phase  would  depend  wholly  on  the  individual." 

*'  In  a  general  way  only,  and  not  by  any  defined  methods.  We 
have,  however,  recently  given  our  employees  the  oppor- 
tunity of  taking  a  course  in  the  Sheldon  School,  half  the 
expense  being  borne  by  us." 

"  Left  to  their  own  discretion." 

"  Certainly.  By  reading  good  books,  attending  lectures,  and 
by  studying  financial  and  mercantile  affairs.  Benjamin 
Franklin  said  that  he  learned  many  things  by  asking  ques- 
tions, and  we  encourage  all  our  junior  clerks  to  ask  all 
the  questions  which  come  to  their  minds  relative  to  busi- 
ness matters." 

"  We  encourage  young  men  to  study,  to  attend  lectures  and  to 
form  clubs  or  associations  for  purposes  of  mutual  help." 

"  Yes.  We  have  a  school  known  as  the  John  Wanamaker,  New 
York,  Commercial  Institute,  composed  of  three  schools. 
Two  for  boys  and  one  for  girls.    Commercial  Course." 

"  Yes.  Employees  must  comply  with  the  wants  of  the  busi- 
ness during  business  hours." 

"  Except  to  impress  upon  our  employees  that  promotion  de- 
pends upon  qualification,  and  the  latter  usually  on  dili- 
gence, I  do  not  interfere  except  to  approve  where  collat- 
eral study  is  voluntarily  undertaken." 

"  I  generally  advise  young  boys  when  they  enter  our  office  to 
attend  night  schools." 

"  I  have,  where  there  was  an  evidence  of  study  and  applica- 
tion.   Paying  for  courses  in  business  colleges." 

"  We  encourage  our  employees  to  attend  night  schools  and  pay 
the  expenses  of  some  of  them  to  attend  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
courses,  especially  on  real  estate." 

"  Yes." 

"  Yes.    Appeal  to  self  interest." 


1 62  Commercial  Education 


Question  Three 

Do  you  perceive  any  defects  in  the  present  business  training 
given  in  our  high  schools?  If  so,  what  defects  are  most 
striking  ? 

Answers  to  Question  Three 

"  Too  many  fads  and  finishing  touches,  and  not  sufficient  at- 
tention paid  to  understanding  the  fundamentals." 
"  No." 

"  Principal  defect  we  observe  is  handwriting." 
"  Reading,   Writing,    Spelling,    Grammar,   particularly,   neg- 
lected." 
"  Writing  very  poor.    Adding  a  lost  art." 


"  The  lack  of  training  in  logic  and  debating,  and  arithmetic 
(practical)  and  the  languages." 

"  The  most  apparent  deficiency  of  the  average  graduate  is  his 
inability  to  write  a  good  business  hand." 

"  Know  nothing  about  methods." 

"  We  are  not  familiar  with  what  business  training  is  at  pres- 
ent given  in  our  high  schools." 

"  We  receive  very  few  high  school  graduates,  our  clerical  force 
seldom  having  gone  beyond  the  grammar  school.  Our 
professional  force  are  usually  college  graduates." 

"  The  main  defect  we  find  in  the  High  and  Grammar  Schools 
is  the  lack  of  concentration  on  the  essentials  for  business, 
namely,  Spelling,  Arithmetic,  and  Writing.  This  affects 
the  High  School  because  it  affects  the  rudimentary 
grades.  The  Evening  High  Schools  in  this  city  realize 
the  situation  and  are  giving  especial  attention  to  these 
subjects." 

"  Inability  to  express  their  views  clearly.    Narrow  views." 

"  I  do  not  think  the  training  in  writing  and  arithmetic,  either 
in  the  High  Schools,  private  schools,  or  the  colleges  is 
what  it  should  be.    We  have  many  college  graduates  apply 

*  The  blank  space  in  this  and  succeeding  cases  shows  that  no  answer  to 
the  particular  question  was  attempted,  although  the  writer  had  answered 
other  questions. 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     163 

to  us  for  positions,  who  cannot  write  a  good  hand  or  spell 
properly." 

"  I  do  not  feel  in  a  position  to  answer  this  question,  except 
perhaps  to  say  that,  in  my  opinion,  English  grammar, 
composition,  and  spelling  are  rather  neglected." 

"  We  have  a  good  opinion  of  our  high  school  training." 

"  Our  examinations  show  that  many  of  the  applicants  who  have 
spent  one,  two,  three,  or  four  years  in  the  high  schools 
are  not  well  grounded  in  the  fundamentals,  i.e.,  Spelling, 
Handwriting,  and  Arithmetic." 

"  Pligh  School  training  appears  to  be  satisfactory." 

"  Our  experience  with  the  average  high  school  graduate  would 
indicate  that  their  training  has  been  defective  in  the  fol- 
lowing directions  : 

"  (a)  The  ability  to  analyze  a  set  of  conditions,  or  once  the 
conditions  are  analyzed  to  draw  reasonably  logical  conclu- 
sions; expressed  in  another  way  —  ability  to  think  logi- 
cally and  clearly. 

"(b)  The  ability  to  express  themselves  clearly  either  verbally 
or  in  writing." 

"  Cannot  specify  under  this  heading." 

"  From  general  observation,  it  might  be  said  that  the  business 
training  in  high  schools  in  clerical  work  is  defective  in 
that  it  is  not  sufficiently  modern.  The  pupil  is  trained 
in  forms  and  methods  which  are  perhaps  antiquated.  This 
appears  when  he  makes  his  first  attempts  in  actual  busi- 
ness, as  he  is  generally  unable  to  identify  the  technical 
terms  of  the  different  forms  of  his  organization  with  the 
names  of  those  he  has  used  in  schools.  There  also  seems 
to  be  a  fairly  general  lack  of  the  rudiments  of  English, 
writing,  and  mathematics." 

"  Lack  of  thoroughness ;  bad  spelling." 

"  Entire  lack  of  proper  commercial  training." 

"The  essentials,  i.e..  Writing  usually  poor;  Spelling,  Arith- 
metic, and  Grammar  also." 


As  above  stated,  the  Firm  does  not  engage  employees,  and 
those  who  do,  do  not  feel  qualified  to  answer,  but  think 
that  in  the  Public  Schools,  sufficient  attention  is  not  paid 
to  Thorough  Instruction  in  writing,  arithmetic,  and 
spelling." 


164  Commercial  Education 

"  We  do  not  feel  that  we  have  sufficient  information  at  our 

command    to    enable    us    to    reply    intelligently    to    this 

question." 
"  From  a  commercial  standpoint  we  should  judge  that  the 

average   high    school   gave    scant   attention    to   business 

training." 
"  Poor  Penmanship." 
"  There  seems  to  be  too  much  attention  paid  to  some  of  the 

so-called  higher  branches  of  study,  to  the  detriment  of  the 

simpler  branches   such  as   spelling,   geography,   English 

grammar,  and  legible  writing." 
"  My  impression  is  that  our  public  schools  should  give  much 

more  attention  to  manual  and  industrial  training." 


"  Cannot  express  an  opinion  owing  to  our  not  being  sufficiently 

posted  in  regard  to  the  present  methods  in  use  to  justify 

us  in  criticising  the  same." 
"  I  have  made  no  study  of  this  subject." 
"  An  absolute  lack  of  foreign  languages  and  little  knowledge 

of  commercial  matter." 
"  Lack  of  acquaintance  with  bookkeeping." 
"Recent  graduates  seem  to  be  totally  unfamiliar  with  business 

methods." 
"  Lack  of  practicability." 
*'  Lack  of  manual  training." 
"  No  observations." 

Question  Four 

Do  you  advise  the  study  of  foreign  commercial  languages? 
If  so,  please  check  in  the  order  of  importance  the  following: 
German,  French,  Spanish,  Italian,  Portuguese. 

Answers  to  Question  Four 

"  Spanish,  French,  German." 

"  Decidedly  yes.     Spanish,  French." 

"  Knowledge  of  foreign  languages  is  not  necessary  in  our 

business,  —  but  would  encourage  the  study  of  German." 
"  Yes,  in  order  of  importance  as  named  by  you." 
"  French,  German,  Italian,  Spanish,  Portuguese." 
"  Not  necessary  but  desirable  —  German  preferred." 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     165 

"  German,  French,  Spanish." 

"  German,  French,  Spanish,  ItaHan." 

"  Spanish,  German,  French." 


"  We  most  decidedly  beheve  in  the  importance  of  the  study  of 
foreign  commercial  languages,  and  for  American  com- 
merce in  manufactures  we  put  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
first,  for  the  reason  that  as  far  as  the  Rio  Grande  River 
on  the  North-American  Continent,  and  extending  to  Cape 
Horn,  the  languages  used  are  Spanish  and  Portuguese, 
and  as  all  the  countries  concerned  are  non-manufacturing 
countries,  they  furnish  a  greater  market  for  the  United 
States  than  other  countries  of  the  world.  Consequently, 
a  knowledge  of  Spanish  and  Portuguese  is  of  the  utmost 
importance.  French  is  valuable  also,  and  Italian  to  some 
extent,  while  German  is  of  no  particular  value  except  for 
doing  business  with  Germany." 

"  For  our  business,  no  language  is  needed  except  English." 

**  The  study  of  foreign  commercial  languages  is  of  benefit  in 
our  business  only  as  a  mental  discipline.  Whatever  trans- 
lating needs  to  be  done  is  easily  cared  for.  Perhaps  the 
order  in  which  you  name  the  languages  shows  the  relative 
importance  as  well  as  any." 

"  Not  to  the  detriment  of  general  business  training." 

'*  Yes.  I  think  you  have  named  the  languages  properly  in  the 
order  of  importance,  but  I  hardly  think  I  should  include 
Portuguese." 

"  German  and  Spanish,  I  think,  are  the  most  important  of  the 
languages  mentioned." 

"  Spanish  is  very  useful  in  our  country,  having  in  view  de- 
velopment of  Trade  with  South  America  and  West 
Indies." 

"  No  particular  advantage." 

''German,  Spanish,  and  French,  in  the  order  named,  is  most 
desirable." 

"  Considering  only  the  requirements  of  this  Company,  the 
study  of  commercial  languages  is  not  especially  helpful." 

*'  Consider  German  of  great  importance  and  to  come  first,  Por- 
tuguese second,  as  this  is  the  most  prevalent  among  the 
commercial  elements  of  the  South  American  countries." 


1 66  Commercial  Education 

"  The  study  of  foreign  languages  seems  advisable,  due  to  prob- 
able further  development  of  foreign  trade,  and  in  the 
order  named  —  Spanish,  German,  and  French.  Italians 
and  Portuguese,  in  this  hemisphere  particularly,  are  more 
or  less  familiar  with  Spanish." 

*'  German,  Spanish,  Italian,  French,  Portuguese." 

"  French,  German,  Spanish,  Italian,  Portuguese." 

"  Yes.     German,  Spanish,  French." 

"  French,  Spanish,  German,  Italian,  Portuguese." 

"  Not  for  our  business.  There  are  always  some  in  our  employ 
who  from  birth  speak  German,  French,  Spanish,  or  Ital- 
ian; such  are  given  positions  where  they  can  be  called 
upon  when  necessary.  It  is  seldom  that  those  who  study 
foreign  languages  in  public  schools  in  New  York  are 
able  to  put  such  study  to  practical  use. 

"  Foreign  languages  are  better  taught  in  Europe.  If  as 
well  taught  here  as  abroad,  they  would  be  valuable,  but 
only  to  those  who  intend  making  practical  use  of  their 
knowledge.  One  serious  trouble  is  that  children  have  too 
many  studies.  Schools  of  Languages  would  supply  above 
deficiency." 

"  For  our  special  business  we  advise  the  study  of  Spanish, 
German,  French,  as  relatively  named." 

"  We  most  assuredly  do  advise  the  study  of  foreign  languages, 
and  from  a  commercial  standpoint  consider  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  the  most  important,  with  French,  German,  and 
Italian  in  the  rotation  named." 

"  Yes.     German,  French,  Spanish." 

"  Better  to  abandon  the  study  of  foreign  languages  except  in 
the  case  of  students  who  have  an  aptitude  and  a  desire  to 
adopt  one  of  the  professions  as  a  vocation." 

"  This  almost  wholly  depends  upon  the  position  to  be  filled, 
and  is  necessary  or  not  as  governed  thereby." 

*'  French,  German." 

"  Yes,  in  the  order  numbered.     Spanish,  German,  French." 

"  Spanish,  French,  German,  Italian,  and  Portuguese  are  all 
valuable  acquisitions  in  the  order  named,  but  for  the  mere 
smattering  that  a  book  education  can  give,  without  prac- 
tice, I  should  not  delay  the  subject's  entrance  into  business 
life,  but  would  encourage  him  to  take  up  whichever  he 
found  most  advantageous  in  his  leisure  hours." 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     167 

"  Spanish,  German,  French,  Italian,  Portuguese." 
"  Would  depend  on  the  larger  nationality  employed  by  the  em- 
ployer.   As  a  merchant  with  the  trading  nation." 
"  German,  French,  Spanish." 
"German  ist;   Spanish  2d;   French  3d." 
"  German,  Spanish,  French,  Italian,  Portuguese." 

Question  Five 

For  a  young  man  entering  your  employ,  which  of  the  follow- 
ing clerical  subjects  is  it  necessary  to  know:  stenography, 
typewriting,  bookkeeping?  (5a)  Would  a  study  of  the  fun- 
damental principles  of  business,  such  as  merchandising,  adver- 
tising, salesmanship,  business  organization,  be  more  valuable 
to  young  men  than  specialization  in  clerical  subjects? 

Answers  to  Question  Five 

"Bookkeeping.  A  general  knowledge  is  very  desirable;  but 
there  must  be  some  specializing." 

"  Stenography  —  Typewriting.  Both  if  engaged  for  same. 
Bookkeeping  —  if  engaged  for  same.     (5a)  Yes." 

"  The  principles  of  business  such  as  merchandising  and  sales- 
manship would  be  most  valuable  in  our  business." 

"Neither.    (5a)  Yes." 

"It  depends.     Bookkeeping  most  important.     (5a)  Yes." 

"Not  necessary  to  know  any  of  the  above.  Prefer  a  young 
man  with  a  good  public  school  education,  proper  home 
training,  and  good  common  sense  —  and  we  will  train  him 
in  our  ways." 

"If  he  enters  the  office  it  would  be  most  desirable  to  know 
bookkeeping  —  if  in  the  store,  merchandising.  We  have 
women  stenographers." 

"  Depends  on  the  position  he  is  engaged  for.  Stenography  — 
Yes  and  no.  Typewriting  —  Yes  and  no.  Bookkeeping 
—  Yes.     (5a)  Yes,  most  decidedly." 

"  We  employ  experts  in  the  three  subjects  mentioned,  but  a 
knowledge  of  stenography  and  typewriting  is  necessary 
only  to  those  employed  in  that  department.  A  knowledge 
of  bookkeeping  is  valuable.  A  study  of  the  fundamental 
principles  of  business  should  be  encouraged." 


1 68  Commercial  Education 

**  Stenography  —  No.  Typewriting  —  No.  Bookkeeping  — 
No." 

"  We  do  not  make  it  a  condition  in  the  case  of  young  men  en- 
tering our  employment,  to  be  familiar  with  stenography, 
typewriting,  or  bookkeeping,  —  unless  they  are  specifi- 
cally employed  to  do  one  of  the  three  kinds  of  work.  We 
believe,  however,  that  a  study  of  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  business,  such  as  merchandising,  salesmanship, 
business  organization,  etc.,  is  infinitely  more  valuable  to 
young  men  going  into  business  than  specialization  upon 
clerical  subjects." 

"  We  employ  no  male  stenographers.  Occasionally  we  can 
use  a  business  school  graduate  in  our  bookkeeping  de- 
partment. The  study  of  business  principles  certainly 
ought  to  be  of  value." 

"  It  is  not  necessary  to  know  any  of  these  subjects.  It  may  be 
explained  that  as  a  rule  clerks  begin  with  us  as  boys  and 
gradually  advance  from  primary  to  more  difficult  clerical 
work.  A  lad  of  ready  intelligence  will  grasp  the  salient 
features  of  the  work,  and  if  he  feels  the  need  of  further 
instruction  will  go  to  Evening  School  or  get  it  in  some 
other  way.  Boys  and  girls  pick  up  typewriting  with  easy 
facility.  In  recruiting  our  typewriting  departments  it  is 
preferable  to  train  the  clerks  from  the  beginning.  Ste- 
;iographers,  of  course,  must  learn  stenography  at  the 
school  and  have  considerable  business  experience  before 
we  find  them  of  much  value  to  us.  A  knowledge  of  Book- 
keeping is  always  of  value,  but  as  a  general  rule  it  is  not 
essential  for  our  work.  A  study  of  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  business,  as  a  High  School  course,  should  be  of 
great  value  for  its  broadening  effect." 

"Bookkeeping.  (5a)  Yes,  I  do  not  think  bookkeeping  should 
be  neglected." 

"  It  depends  on  what  position  the  employee  is  to  occupy ;  if 
he  is  to  be  a  stenographer,  he  must  naturally  know  ste- 
nography and  typewriting,  and  if  a  bookkeeper,  bookkeep- 
ing. For  the  majority  of  positions  in  our  employ  we 
should  prefer  that  he  had  a  knowledge  of  the  other  sub- 
jects named  by  you,  although  they  are  not  essential,  as  we 
take  applicants  only  in  the  lowest  positions  and  train  them 
ourselves." 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     169 

"  It  all  depends  upon  the  position  the  young  man  is  to  fill.  Of 
course  it  is  to  one's  advantage  to  have  a  knowledge  of 
stenography,  typewriting,  and  bookkeeping.  It  seems  to 
me  that  a  study  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  business 
would  be  more  advantageous  to  young  men,  because  a 
knowledge  of  those  principles  would  better  enable  them  to 
learn  and  intelligently  understand  clerical  subjects." 

"  Fundamental  principles  as  you  specify  are  very  much  more 
important  than  stenography  —  but  bookkeeping  should  be 
understood  by  all.  Stenography  is  very  useful  to  assist 
progress." 

"  Knowledge  of  Bookkeeping  and  the  fundamental  principles 
of  business  would  be  of  assistance  in  our  office  work." 

"  With  us,  the  work  is  divided  in  departments,  and  it  is  not 
necessary  for  the  bookkeeper  to  know  shorthand  or  type- 
writing, but  the  typist  must  know  stenography,  etc.  It 
will  always  be  of  considerable  advantage  to  acquire  by 
study  the  fundamental  principles  of  business,  unless  it  is 
intended  by  the  employee  to  remain  in  special  work,  such 
as  typewriting,  bookkeeping,  cashier,  etc." 

"  A  knowledge  of  stenography  and  typewriting  would  be  nec- 
essary in  filling  certain  positions  where  a  male  stenog- 
rapher was  desired.  In  our  particular  business  a  knowl- 
edge of  bookkeeping  as  it  is  generally  taught  in  high 
schools  might  in  some  cases  be  helpful,  but  hardly  ever 
absolutely  necessary.  A  study  of  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  business,  such  as  merchandising,  advertising, 
salesmanship,  and  business  organization  would  in  general 
seem  to  be  more  valuable  to  young  men  than  specialization 
upon  clerical  subjects." 

"  In  large  organizations  clerical  work  has  to  be  considerably 
specialized  just  as  the  business  has  to  be  specialized  and 
departmentized.  The  relative  value  therefore  of  sten- 
ography, typewriting,  bookkeeping,  etc.,  depends  upon  the 
special  department  or  service  which  is  expected.  Of 
course  the  broader  one's  education  and  knowledge  is  the 
more  fitted  to  move  from  one  position  to  another  as  oppor- 
tunities or  openings  occur. 

"  Merchandising,  advertising,  salesmanship,  business  or- 
ganization are  all  fruitful  fields  for  specializing. 


170  Commercial  Education 

"  While  good  salesmen  have  to  be  bom  rather  than  bred, 
education  in  this  line  is  one  of  the  most  fruitful  fields  and 
promising  opportunities  of  any  in  commercial  life. 

"  Good  salesmanship  is  more  difficult  to  obtain  than 
almost  any  other  service  in  manufacturing  and  commer- 
cial enterprises.  It  involves  ability,  the  right  tempera- 
ment to  judge  of  human  nature,  great  energy  and  buoyant 
spirit,  and  a  philosophic  temperament.  Snubs,  rebuffs,  and 
disappointments  must  be  taken  without  lessening  enthusi- 
asm and  hope.  While  these  qualities  must  have  a  natural 
basis  in  the  individual,  they  can  be  greatly  developed  and 
cultivated  by  education  and  experience." 
"  Bookkeeping,  or  its  essentials,  is  the  usual  subject  most 
necessary  for  a  young  man  to  know  in  entering  business. 
In  an  organization  of  many  diversified  departments,  how- 
ever, it  cannot  be  stated  that  this  is  the  usual  essential,  as 
there  are  many  other  classes  of  labor  called  for. 

"  Speaking  of  the  average  young  man,  as  most  young 
men  have  to  take  the  first  chance  of  employment  that  is 
offered,  it  would  seem  that  a  specialized  education  in  one 
particular  line  would  limit  his  opportunity  for  such  em- 
ployment.   Under  the  conditions,  it  would  seem  advisable 
to  devote  his  education  to  clerical  subjects,  inasmuch  as 
there  is  a  universal  field  for  this  class  of  labor.     In  this 
way  he  comes  in  contact  with  almost  all  of  the  other  de- 
tails of  an  organization,  or  is  in  a  position  to  observe  the 
workings,  and  effects,  of  the  special  lines  of  advertising, 
salesmanship,  etc.    He  may  then,  at  a  school,  if  interested, 
learn  the  fundamentals  and  fit  himself  for  the  opportuni- 
ties which  may  present  themselves  in  his  organization  or 
in  any  other.     This,  of  course,  bears  only  upon  a  young 
man  who  has  no  other  resources." 
"  Stenography  and  Typewriting  are  desirable.     (5a)   No." 
"  Stenography  —  No.      Typewriting  —  No.      Bookkeeping  — 
Yes.      (  5a)      Merchandising  —  Salesmanship  —  Business 
organization  most  important. 
"Bookkeeping  (accurate)." 
"  Depends  on  the  position  he  is  going  to  occupy." 
"  In  our  store,  women  occupy  such  positions.     We  have  had 
bright  young  people  especially  taught.     (5a)  Difficult  to 


i 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     171 

answer  in  form  in  which  question  is  put.  All  the  subjects 
are  interesting.  That  which  would  interest  one,  would  be 
useless  to  another." 

"  Young  men  entering  our  offices  as  stenographers  must  also 
be  competent  operators  on  the  typewriter.  Bookkeeping 
is  a  distinctly  separate  branch.  The  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  business  would  naturally  be  more  valuable  to  a 
young  man  than  the  specialization  of  a  clerical  subject." 

"If  we  want  a  stenographer  or  a  bookkeeper,  we  cannot  accept 
anyone  not  familiar  with  stenography  or  bookkeeping. 
We  have  found,  however,  that  bookkeeping  as  taught  by 
some  of  the  '  business  colleges '  is  very  unsatisfactory. 
Generally  speaking,  the  study  of  fundamental  principles 
of  business  is  in  our  opinion  of  more  general  and  far- 
reaching  advantage  than  the  specialization  upon  clerical 
subjects." 

"  Stenography  —  No.  Typewriting  —  No.  Bookkeeping  — 
No.     (5a)  Yes." 

"  I  do  not  require  a  knowledge  of  stenography,  typewriting, 
or  bookkeeping  from  a  young  man  entering  our  employ. 
At  the  same  time  a  knowledge  of  all  or  any  would  of 
course  be  of  great  service  to  a  clerk.  I  would  urge  every 
young  man  to  specialize  on  some  one  subject  if  he  can 
find  a  practical  instructor.  Many  teachers  are  altogether 
theoretical  and  have  no  practical  experience." 

"  This  obviously  depends  upon  the  young  man's  selection  of 
his  work  or  profession;  this  determined,  it  is  clear  that 
he  should  then  fit  himself  by  special  study." 

"  A  good  common  school  education  is  essential.  Business  or- 
ganization, etc.,  is  being  taught  by  many  firms." 

"  Depends  upon  nature  of  position.     (5a)  Yes." 

"  Typewriting  is  of  very  little  value  without  stenography.  To- 
gether I  regard  them  as  a  valuable  asset  to  a  young  man. 
He  should  also  have  a  fundamental  knowledge  of  book- 
keeping." 

"  Stenography  —  No.  Typewriting  —  No.  Bookkeeping  — 
Yes  .    (5a)  I  think  it  would." 

"  Stenography  and  Bookkeeping.  (5a)  The  young  man  can 
best  equip  himself  from  experience.  There  is  no  school 
that  can  qualify  him  equal  to  experience.  It  is  practice, 
not  theory,  that  perfects." 


172  Commercial  Education 

**  Stenography  —  Some.      Typewriting  —  Yes.      Bookkeeping 

—  A  little.  (5a)  Yes." 
"  Bookkeeping.  (5a)  Yes." 
"  Stenography  —  No.      Typewriting  —  No.      Bookkeeping  — 

No.     (5a)  Yes." 

Question  Six 

Should  schools  of  commerce  attempt  to  train  for  particular 
types  of  business;  e.g.,  merchandise,  transportation,  banking, 
etc.? 

Answers  to  Question  Six 

"  Yes,  and  give  opportunities  for  aptness  in  any  line  best 
adapted  to." 

"  No." 

"  The  lines  of  education  would  probably  be  good  for  other 
lines  of  business." 

"  General  training  preferable." 

"Yes." 

*'  No.  Do  not  believe  it  possible  to  get  the  proper  teachers. 
They  lack  experience  of  the  right  kind." 

"  I  think  so." 

"  Yes,  most  decidedly." 

"  They  should  teach  the  fundamental  principles  of  business, 
and,  following  that,  train  for  particular  types  of  business." 

"  Yes." 

"  We  decidedly  believe  that  schools  of  commerce  should  train 
for  particular  types  of  business,  but  not  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  study  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  general 
business." 

*'  General  principles  might  be  useful,  but  the  man  who  comes 
up  through  the  ranks,  if  he  has  the  other  necessary  quali- 
,fications,  usually  is  the  most  useful." 

"  Schools  of  Commerce  should  be  both  practical  and  general  in 
instruction.  They  should  be  at  once  Technical  schools, 
giving  the  exact  instruction  needed  by  the  pupils  in  their 
particular  lines  of  business,  and  Business  Men's  Univer- 
sities, imparting  a  broad  culture  in  everything  pertaining 
to  business  and  commerce." 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     173 

*'  Yes,  most  important." 

"  We  think  that  the  training  referred  to  would  be  valuable  to 
any  young  man  entering  business." 

"  The  principle  of  Universities  in  training  students  for  the 
practice  of  Law,  Medicine,  Engineering,  et  cetera,  should, 
I  think,  also  apply  to  schools  of  commerce  in  training 
young  men  for  particular  types  of  business." 

"  Owing  to  the  vast  differences  between  the  above  branches,  it 
would  be  very  advantageous  to  teach  them  separately  if 
the  proper  teachers  are  available." 

''  If  well  grounded  in  subjects  mentioned  in  previous  questions, 
training  for  special  branches  could  come  later,  even  after 
business  experience  begins." 

"  A  general  business  education  will  always  be  of  greater  ad- 
.vantage  than  training  for  particular  types." 

"  It  would  hardly  seem  practicable  for  Schools  of  Commerce 
to  train  for  particular  types  of  business,  for  example,  mer- 
chandise, transportation,  banking,  etc.,  but  a  study  of  the 
broad,  fundamental  features  of  such  types  of  business  as 
in  *  5  '  would  seem  to  constitute  a  very  valuable  training 
for  young  men." 

"  Yes.  Schools  of  commerce,  especially  in  the  higher  training, 
should  specialize,  without,  however,  overlooking  that  a 
grounding  of  general  commercial  knowledge  should  first 
be  instilled  before  the  specializing  process  begins,  other- 
wise the  result  may  be  a  pedant  or  narrow  person  unable 
to  grasp  or  judge  of  essential  surroundings  and  general 
influences  as  they  affect  specialized  endeavor." 

*'  The  establishment  of  classes  for  certain  types  of  business 
with  which  all  or  the  greater  part  of  other  businesses  must 
come  in  contact,  such  as  those  mentioned  in  question, 
seems  advisable  in  the  night  or  higher  schools,  as  the 
young  man  may  familiarize  himself  with  conditions  ahead 
of  his  present  position,  or  he  who  may  not  be  in  the  em- 
ploy of  any  one  of  the  specialized  departments  may  learn 
the  necessary  details  for  use  in  his  organization,  the  idea 
being  to  fit  the  already  employed  man  to  broaden  and  in- 
.crease  his  knowledge  for  the  benefit  of  his  own  house." 

"  Not  necessary  in  our  line  of  business." 


174  Commercial  Education 

"  Classes  in  each  department  would  be  important." 
"  No.  I  think  neglect  in  the  essentials  is  the  principal  trouble, 
as  when  a  boy  determines  what  he  wishes  to  do  for  a  life 
work  then  is  the  time  for  him  to  qualify  for  that  occupa- 
tion, but  he  wants  in  any  event  to  have  a  good  ground- 
work." 


"  Yes." 

"  Schools  of  Commerce  should  encourage  a  pupil  to  specialize 
on  the  particular  type  of  business  he  may  select." 

"  No.  A  general  business  education  should  be  given  to  serve 
as  a  foundation  for  the  subsequent  training,  through  prac- 
tical experience,  in  any  special  line." 

"  Good  idea,  but  practical  experience  is  best." 

"  I  believe  that  the  best  training  a  young  man  can  find  is  by 
actual  experience  and  work  in  a  commercial  house,  bank- 
ing house,  or  business  institution.  I  think  much  valuable 
time  is  lost  by  youths  in  attending  schools  of  commerce, 
and  I  do  not  favor  providing  such  schools  at  public  ex- 
pense. I  believe  that  manual  training  schools  would  ren- 
der greater  service  than  commercial  schools." 

"  Yes." 

"  If  the  course  could  be  made  practical,  yes." 

"  No." 

"  The  best  school  of  commerce  is  a  well-conducted  business 
office.  Given  the  three  R's,  the  basis  of  stenography  and 
typewriting  and  the  principles  of  bookkeeping,  I  would 
rather  take  the  applicant  than  if  he  was  a  graduate  from 
High  School  or  a  School  of  Commerce." 

"  Unless  a  young  man  proposes  to  devote  himself  to  a  specific 
branch,  I  think  it  is  wise  that  he  should  have  a  fair  knowl- 
edge of  all  branches  of  commerce." 

"  In  general,  yes.  That  the  young  man  may  have  a  proper 
interpretation  of  the  special  requirements  of  one  class. 
Don't  believe  in  multiplicity." 

"  A  student  should  be  permitted  to  elect  whether  he  would 
take  a  general  course  in  business  or  a  special." 

"  No." 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     175 


Question  Seven 

It  is  manifest  that 'to  fulfill  its  best  purposes  commercial  edu- 
cation should  keep  in  constant  touch  with  the  business  world 
and  advance  with  the  evolution  of  commerce.  What  methods 
can  you  suggest  of  promoting  such  a  relation  between  the  pub- 
lic commercial  schools  and  the  business  houses  of  the  city  ? 

Answers  to  Question  Seven 

"  Business  men  taking  a  more  active  interest,  and  being  called 
into  consultation  more  frequently." 

"  Teachers  should  study  business  practically  and  not  only 
theoretically." 

"  Would  suggest  that  the  business  men,  particularly  those  who 
employ  junior  help,  should  from  time  to  time  be  in  com- 
munication with  the  Board  of  Education,  that  they  may 
express  their  opinions  from  their  point  of  view." 

"  Have  no  specific  suggestions  to  offer." 


"  By  occasional  sending  of  circulars  by  commercial  schools  and 
colleges  among  the  business  interests." 

"  Wide-awake,  conscientious,  and  ambitious  instructors  will 
find  ways  and  means  of  keeping  in  pretty  close  touch  with 
the  business  world." 

"  Unable  to  answer  this  question." 

"  We  entirely  agree  that  it  is  essential  that  commercial  education 
should  be  kept  in  constant  touch  with  the  business  world 
and  advance  with  the  evolution  of  mercantile  development, 
and  the  method  we  would  suggest  is  that  the  principals  of 
pupils  or  graduating  classes  should  ascertain,  if  possible, 
from  the  various  pupils  the  particular  business  they  wish 
to  adopt,  and  lists  of  such  pupils  should  be  sent  to  impor- 
tant houses  in  order  that  they  may  make  a  selection  of 
such  employees  as  they  may  desire,  either  to  fill  vacancies 
or  to  provide  a  reserve  of  young  men  to  be  gradually  ab- 
sorbed as  occasion  may  require." 


176  Commercial  Education 

"  Frequent  lectures  from  successful  men  engaged  in  the  actual 
business  being  taught." 

"  There  is  no  better  way  than  to  study  the  requirements  and 
necessities  of  the  business  of  the  city  —  the  trained  edu- 
cator analyzing  the  situation  and  arranging  courses  of 
instruction  to  meet  the  needs  disclosed.  Inquiries  like  the 
present  ones  are  directly  in  line." 

"  Yes." 

"I  do  not  feel  competent  to  answer  this  question." 

"  One  method,  I  would  suggest,  towards  keeping  Commercial 
schools  in  touch  with  the  business  world  would  be  to 
have  courses  of  lectures  given  to  the  students  by  experi- 
enced and  practical  men  actively  engaged  in  business." 

"  I.  By  soliciting  the  managers  of  large  corporations  to  ad- 
dress the  pupils. 
"  11.  By  voluntary  services  on  the  part  of  the  pupils  offered 
to  large  corporations." 

"  Inquiries  by  representative  commercial  bodies,  such  as  yours, 
and  subsequent  conferences  with  professional  educational 
authorities." 

"  This  will  hardly  prove  practicable,  except  through  lectures 
of  experienced  business  men,  before  and  for  the  benefit 
of  teachers  in  the  Schools  of  Commerce." 

"  It  would  seem  possible  to  promote  a  relation  between  the 
public  commercial  schools  and  the  business  interests  of  the 
City,  by  having  lectures  on  business  subjects  delivered 
before  the  advanced  classes  of  the  schools,  by  men  actu- 
ally engaged  in  various  lines  of  work,  by  inspections  of 
business  places  and  plants  of  one  sort  or  another.  Stu- 
dents might  be  required  to  submit  written  reports  of  what 
they  have  heard  or  seen  at  these  lectures  or  inspections. 
It  might  also  be  possible  to  assign  to  different  students  or 
groups  of  students  the  investigation  of  the  main  features 
of  some  particular  line  of  business,  the  result  of  this  in- 
vestigation to  be  embodied  in  a  report ;  such  investigations 
could  be  directed  by  the  instructor  and  an  attempt  made  to 
have  the  cooperation  of  some  one  in  the  particular  line  of 
business  affected." 

"  I  can  see  no  way  by  which  such  a  desirable  contact  between 
Technical  education  and  Practical  mercantile  operations 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     177 

can  be  sustained  unless  the  Commercial  colleges  can  se- 
cure the  cooperation  of  experienced  leaders  in  actual  walks 
of  commercial  life,  by  getting  such  representative  men  to 
agree  to  give  talks  or  lectures  at  different  times  to  the 
classes  in  the  commercial  schools.  It  might  be  possible 
to  secure  a  given  number  of  bankers  (by  that  I  mean  both 
National  and  private  bankers),  leading  manufacturers  and 
merchants,  to  agree  to  give  such  addresses  on  practical 
topics,  rotating  from  year  to  year  in  getting  a  new  list 
so  that  it  would  not  be  burdensome  upon  any,  and  it  would 
be  well  to  include,  if  possible,  in  such  addresses  or  lectures 
some  of  those  men  who  are  professional  business  organ- 
izers, economizers,  and  systematizers." 
The  methods  adopted  at  the  different  Y.  M.  C.  A.  schools, 
that  of  having  talks  and  lectures  by  practical  and  success- 
ful business  men  for  their  specialized  classes,  seem  to  be 
fairly  suited  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  student  abreast 
of  the  times.  If  this  method  could  be  extended  to  the 
schools  in  a  way  adapted  to  the  understanding  of  the  stu- 
dent, and  also  in  a  more  advanced  manner  to  the  higher 
classes,  the  student  undoubtedly  would  be  kept  more  in 
touch  with  the  developments  of  modern  business  methods. 
Young  boys  should  not  be  expected  to  grasp  details  of 
business.  The  student  must  be  older,  and,  if  possible, 
trained  to  some  extent  by  actual  experience  to  benefit  by 
the  teaching  of  men  who  do  not  realize  the  limitations  im- 
posed by  inexperienced  youth. 

"If  the  teacher  of  commercial  education  in  the  day 
schools  were  able,  at  certain  periods,  to  enter  into  some 
business  organization,  and  through  experience  in  the  actual 
work  of  such  organization  refresh  himself  and  use  the 
workaday  knowledge  thus  gained  in  his  teaching,  the 
student  would  naturally  be  benefited  by  the  broader  view 
of  the  teacher  in  the  consequent  departure  from  practically 
all  theory  to  some  fact.  This  would,  of  course,  require 
cooperation  from  the  business  men  of  the  city.  Perhaps 
it  might  also  be  suggested  that  each  school  have  a  library 
of  the  business  forms  in  use  by  different  houses.  These 
forms  would  be  up-to-date,  but  should  not  be  beyond  the 
capacity  of  the  pupil,  the  selection  to  be  made  by  the 


178  Commercial  Education 

teacher  and  the  uses  explained  and  their  correlation  to  the 
forms  used  in  schools  illustrated.  The  young  man  attend- 
ing night  school  has  more  opportunities  during  his  daily 
work  of  keeping  himself  in  form  as  to  the  modem 
developments." 

"  All  we  want  is  bright,  active,  and  trustworthy  boys  who  are 
thorough  in  their  work  and  write  English  correctly;  a 
knowledge  of  German  is  desirable." 

"  Constant  touch  necessary  with  the  development  of  daily  busi- 
ness—  a  close  relation  with  prominent  men  in  each  walk 
of  business." 

"  In  our  experience  we  have  not  found  as  a  rule  that  commer- 
cial college  education  was  of  much  consequence." 


"  This  question  would  be  better  answered  by  those  that  have 
been  in  touch  with  the  situation,  and  by  studying  the  sys- 
tems of  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  some  of  our  own  In- 
stitutions, where  advance  has  also  been  made  of  late 
years." 

"  We  suggest  that  the  Public  Commercial  Schools  come  more 
in  contact  with  active  business  men.  A  course  of  lectures 
given  by  progressive,  practical  men  engaged  in  active  busi- 
ness would  be  valuable.  We  also  suggest  a  consideration 
of  the  methods  utilized  by  the  Harvard  Business  School." 

"  The  public  commercial  school  should  make  a  systematic  at- 
tempt to  keep  in  touch  with  their  old  pupils  and  learn  from 
their  employers  why  they  succeed  or  fail.  This  will  en- 
able the  school  to  choose  studies  and  methods  that  tend 
to  success  and  avoidance  of  failures." 

"  By  having  the  Board  of  Education  include  not  only  profes- 
sional but  also  business  men." 

"  I  would  suggest  that  competent  and  experienced  business  men 
be  employed  to  lecture  on  commercial  and  financial  topics, 
the  lectures  to  be  followed  by  a  period  of  time  sufficient 
to  allow  the  pupils  to  ask  questions  regarding  the  subject 
matter.  As  I  have  already  stated,  I  believe  the  privilege 
of  asking  questions  is  likely  to  result  in  the  stimulation 
and  encouragement  of  knowledge." 

"I  regard  Herman  Schneider,  Dean  of  the  College  of  Engi- 
neering,  University   of   Cincinnati,   as   one   of   the   best 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     179 

equipped  authorities  on  this  subject  and  I  commend  you  to 

him.     He  has  done  practical  and,  I  think,  very  valuable 

work." 
ii >> 

"  By  giving  courses  of  lectures  on  the  growth  of  Commerce,  its 
needs  and  requirements,  and  to  stimulating  the  activity  of 
the  scholars  to  increase  their  knowledge  and  fitness  for 
the  opportunities  that  will  present  themselves  in  their 
future  life." 

"  I  can  add  nothing  to  the  previous  answer." 

"  I  think  that  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  can  be  of  great  aid 
in  establishing  a  system  of  cooperation  between  business 
firms  and  commercial  schools  whereby  some  certificate  or 
recommendation  by  such  schools  would  enable  such  stu- 
dents to  readily  find  good  positions  at  once  in  firms.  Most 
banking  firms  prefer  to  engage  German  clerks  (as  edu- 
cated in  Germany)  who  understand  English,  French  (and 
occasionally  Spanish),  and  who  appear  to  have  a  knowl- 
edge of  business  methods,  no  doubt  taught  and  enforced 
in  the  German  high  schools." 

"  The  commercial  colleges  in  their  teaching  well  illustrate  the 
best  methods.  There  the  boy  can  decide  the  class  he 
leans  to  and  develop." 

"(a)  Keep  up  a  constant  propaganda  among  the  merchants  of 

the  advantages  of  commercial  education. 

"(b)  Let  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  as  representing 

the  best  business  interests  of  the  City  grant  diplomas 

and  medals  in  a  public  way,  showing  great  honor  to  the 

recipients  and  thus  making  same  of  considerable  value." 


General  Comments  in  the  Letters  Received 

For  ordinary  business,  insist  upon  a  thorough,  practical 
knowledge  of  arithmetic  even  if  higher  grades  of  mathe- 
matics are  abandoned.  Learn  to  spell  well.  Handwriting 
should  be  plain  and  legible,  not  necessarily  handsome. 

"  Dictation  or  letter  writing  should  be  clear,  definite,  and 
well  expressed,  so  there  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  meaning. 


i8o  Commercial  Education 

"  For  foreign  trade  a  good  knowledge  of  Geography  is 
very  essential." 

"  Would  say  that  for  the  class  of  people  employed  in  our  busi- 
ness,—  too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  laid  on  a  thorough 
education  in  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  Many  who 
apply  to  us,  and  that  we  have  to  employ,  are  sadly  defi- 
cient, particularly  in  fractions,  even  though  they  have 
graduated  from  the  Grammar-school." 

"  The  public  schools  and  colleges,  in  cases  where  the  students 
intend  to  enter  a  commercial  career,  ought  not  to  be  so 
insistent  about  the  study  of  Greek  and  Latin.  A  good 
training  in  Commercial  Law,  Arithmetic,  Grammar,  and 
the  Languages  would  in  my  opinion  be  much  more 
beneficial." 

" Dear  Sir:  — 

"Acknowledging  your  circular  letter  of  the  15th  inst., 
would  say,  we  seldom  employ  young  men  in  this  office, 
preferring  to  select  bright  lads  fifteen  or  sixteen  years 
of  age,  who  can  write  a  good  hand;  and  who  are  ad- 
vanced in  our  service,  to  fill  either  clerical  positions,  or 
become  salesmen;  and  oftentimes,  the  heads  of  different 
departments,  and  our  branch  offices. 

"  If  our  public  schools  would  attempt  less,  they  would 
accomplish  more  in  the  writer's  opinion;  what  I  wish  to 
express  is  this;  that  a  lad  who  can  write  a  good  hand 
and  who  has  been  well  schooled  in  spelling,  is  what  we 
require  most. 

"  Bear  in  mind  that  my  remarks  refer  to  a  Commercial 
establishment  doing  business  exclusively  in  the  United 
States." 

"  The  time  is  rapidly  approaching  when  the  needs  of  this  coun- 
try for  its  agricultural  and  pastural  products,  will  be 
equal,  or  more  than  equal,  to  the  supply,  the  consequent 
result  of  which  will  be  a  great  stimulus  to  foreign  trade  in 
manufactures.  Therefore,  we  are  inclined  to  lay  special 
stress  upon  the  importance  of  having  the  pupils  in  public 
schools  taught  the  value  and  importance  of  our  relations 
to  foreign  countries  and  the  possibilities  of  commerce 
which  lie  therein." 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     i8i 

"Dear  Sir:  — 

"  I  enclose  categorical  answers  to  your  questions  as  sub- 
mitted. Our  business  is  of  a  kind  where  to  a  large  ex- 
tent we  must  train  our  own  employees.  It  is  our  principle 
to  secure  a  capable  head  for  a  department  and  make  him 
responsible  for  the  successful  execution  of  the  work  and 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  General  Manager  to  see  that  the  de- 
partments dovetail  together.  With  a  man  at  the  head  of 
each  department  and  in  most  departments,  with  a  capable 
assistant,  we  find  it  possible  to  use  a  great  deal  of  cheap, 
clerical  labor. 

"  The  effect  of  theoretical  business  training  is  hard  to 
judge.  Certainly  a  large  number  of  those  who  receive  a 
theoretical  training  do  not  seem  to  have  profited  much  by 
it.  Some  young  men  apparently  have  in  them  the  ability 
to  grasp  what  is  expected  of  them  and  to  accomplish  it. 
Others  do  not  have  this  ability  and  apparently  never  get 
it.  It  is  undoubtedly  true,  however,  that  a  man  is  not 
necessarily  a  failure  because  he  does  not  make  a  success 
of  the  first  position  in  which  he  is  placed.  In  our  large 
institution,  we  do  not  find  it  necessary  to  get  rid  of  an 
individual  altogether  unless  he  is  chronically  unwilling  to 
work  or  unusually  stupid.  Usually,  we  find  some  place 
where  he  can  do  well  his  part  of  the  work  of  the  machine. 
"  Studies  that  train  the  mind  and  make  the  individual 
capable  of  grasping  situations  in  dealing  with  them,  are 
in  my  opinion  very  beneficial  for  a  young  man  going  into 
business.  The  details  of  the  business  itself  do  not  have 
to  be  learned  in  a  day  and  the  young  man  usually  is  able 
to  assimilate  them  gradually  after  he  has  started  his  work." 

"If  there  is  one  weakness  which  shows  above  others,  it 
is  in  my  opinion,  that  too  little  attention  is  given  to  the 
study  of  the  English  language.  The  man  of  the  future 
who  cannot  talk  or  write  logically  will  be  severely  handi- 
capped. The  man  who  succeeded  in  the  past  with  little 
command  of  English  will  have  a  hard  road  to  hoe  if  he 
attempts  to  succeed  in  the  future  with  such  a  handicap. 

"  Great  tendency  among  young  business  men  today  to  be 
unreasonable,  as  a  class  they  are  inclined  to  go  to  extremes, 
this  is  a  fault  of  the  American  people  as  a  whole. 


1 82  Commercial  Education 

"  A  business  man  oug-ht  to  have  a  little  legal  training, 
that  he  may  realize  there  are  two  sides  to  every  problem." 

"  I  answered  these  questions  in  a  general  way.  In  one  depart- 
ment of  our  business  we  prefer  young  men  with  a  college 
education,  but  as  a  rule,  when  we  engage  boys  that  begin 
at  the  lowest  rung  of  the  ladder,  we  look  for  such  that 
are  active  and  trustworthy,  will  do  their  work  thoroughly, 
and  can  write  English  correctly.  The  last  two  qualifica- 
tions are  the  most  difficult  to  find.  The  spelling  of  the 
applicants  is  as  a  rule  very  bad,  and  the  great  trouble  we 
find  with  boys  is  their  lack  of  thoroughness." 

"  My  experience  is,  that  to  obtain  efficient  men,  in  Banking, 
we  must  look  largely  for  Europeans.  They  are  the  best 
trained  in  calculation,  relating  to  Banking,  and  imbibe 
from  earliest  childhood,  the  thorough  elements  of  a  busi- 
ness training.  As  important  as  any  other  part  of  the  edu- 
cation, is  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  English  language. 

"  This  means  a  completed  course  of  study  in  the  High 
Schools,  with  great  leaning  towards  a  completed  college 
course  of  three  to  four  years." 

"  I  am  personally  clearly  of  an  opinion  that  our  schools  make 
a  serious  mistake  in  not  giving  a  boy  the  education  re- 
quired in  any  large  business  and  my  experience  is  that  a 
very  large  proportion  cannot  write  a  well  written  letter. 
We  require  each  applicant  to  send  us  a  written  application. 
If  you  were  to  read  them  it  certainly  would  be  a  great  sur- 
prise to  you  to  note  the  small  proportion  of  even  fairly 
well  written  applications, 

"  The  necessary  essentials  are  sadly  lacking  and  many 
recommendations  we  receive  from  teachers  are  a  surprise 
to  us.  Apparently  non-essentials  are  considered  of  the 
most  importance." 

"  Ambition  is  the  great  essential.  The  ambitious  will  en- 
deavor to  qualify  and  will  avail  themselves  of  oppor- 
tunities. 

"  To  those  who  wish  to  enter  Mercantile  Life,  a  good 
education  is  helpful,  and  should  be  attained  if  possible. 
Studies  should  be  those  that  bear  especially  on  occupation 
it  is  proposed  to  follow. 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     183 

"  A  college  course  is  not  Essential  for  success  in 
business. 

"  College  life  gives  polish  and  carriage  and  is  of  advan- 
tage socially;  nevertheless,  four  years  spent  in  College 
can  often  be  better  employed  in  studying  the  special 
occupation  which  the  boy  or  girl  intends  to  follow.  It 
may  easily  happen  that  College  life  and  studies  will  unfit 
the  student  for  business  life. 

"  A  good  foundation  in  Reading,  Writing,  Arithme- 
tic, and  Spelling,  is  absolutely  necessary,  and  often 
neglected  for  a  smattering  of  other  important  studies. 

"  Trade  and  Commerce  Schools  are  Desirable,  both 
for  college  students  and  those  who  have  not  been  able  to 
pursue  the  higher  branches." 
"  Commercial  schools  should  have  an  efficient  employment 
bureau,  with  representatives  who  are  in  constant  touch 
with  the  business  world  and  positions  should  be  obtained 
for  the  graduates  without  expense  to  them  or  to  their 
employers." 
"  Find  what  the  young  man  has  a  special  liking  for  or  acquaint- 
ance with.  If  he  is  undecided,  advise  him  to  follow  his 
father's  occupation  even  to  a  trade." 


FORMS  USED  IN  THE  BOSTON  INVESTIGATIONS 

The  two  forms  on  pages  184  and  185  were  used  in  the  inves- 
tigation conducted  by  the  Committee  of  the  Boston  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  discussed  in  Chapter  IV  (pages  61  to  68). 

The  three  forms  on  pages  186  to  188  were  used  in  the 
investigations  conducted  by  The  Women's  Educational  and 
Industrial  Union,  of  Boston,  in  1913-1914,  discussed  in 
Chapter  IV  (pages  53  to  61). 


1 84 


Commercial  Education 

BOSTON  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE 
Special  Committee  on  Commercial  Education 

VOCATIONAL   HISTORY 

This  Committee  wishes  to  gather  as  many  individual  records  as  possible  in  order  to  have 
a  broad  basis  of  facts  upon  which  to  recommend  commercial  courses.  NO  ATTEMPT 
WILL  BE  MADE  AT  ANY  TIME  TO  TRACE  ANY  RECORD  TO  ANY  INDIVIDUAL. 
YOU  ARE  REQUESTED  NOT  TO  SIGN  YOUR  NAME  NOR  YOUR  FIRM  NAME. 

I.  Line  of  business  —  as    i.  Department  Store? 2.  Wholesale 

Groceries? 3-  Insurance? 

4.  Or? 

(Please  write  your  business  on  line  above) 

n.  How  many  years  have  you  worked  ? 

in.  What  is  your  principal  duty  ?     Buyer  of SeUer  of 

Stockkeeper.    Bookkeeper.    Stenographer.    Or  ? 

(Please  fill  in  your  position) 

a.  About  how  much  per  week  does  this  pay  you  ? 

b.  Please  state  briefly  the  work  you  first  had,  your  pay  in  that  work,  and  your  principal 

changes  or  transfers. 


IV.  What  school  training  did  you  have  ? 

a.  Grammar  grades  ? years 

b.  Public  commercial  high  school  course  ? years 

c.  Private  commercial  high  school  course  ? years 

d.  Public  General  high  school  coiu-se  ? years 

e.  Public  Technical  high  school  course  ? years 

V.  Have  you  made  any  use  of  the  following  subjects  ? 

a.  Stenography  ? d.  Penmanship  ? 

b.  Typewriting  ? e.  Mental  Arithmetic  ? 

c.  Bookkeeping  ? f.    Any  other  school  study  ? 

If  so,  was  it  in  getting  your  fiist  job  or  have  you  used  the  knowledge  in  your  work  since  ? 

VI.  What  subject  would  have  been  of  value  to  you  if  you  could  have  studied  it  in  school? 
Please  suggest  any  subject  that  you  think  it  would  be  well  to  have  taught,  whether  it 
has  ever  been  taught  in  any  school  or  not. 


PLEASE  USE  REVERSE  OF  SHEET  FOR  ANY  REMARKS  YOU 
WISH  TO  ADD 

NOTICE.  —  Please  state  whether  this  blank  has  been  filled  out  by  a  man  or  woman. 


Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     185 
BOSTON   CHAMBER   OF   COMMERCE 


Special  Committee  on  Commercial  Education 


Form  of  Questionnaire  to  be  Filled  Out  by  Personal  Interview 
with  Employers 

Line  of  Business  Employing  About  Employees 

I.  Do  you  require  a  grammar  school  training  ? 

II.  What  education  beyond  the  grammar  grade  seems  to  you 
valuable  ? 

III.  What  are  the  better  paying  positions  in  your  business  ? 

IV.  Are  boys  or  girls  who  start  in  the  office  and  prove  efficient, 

in  line  for  these  better  paid  positions  ? 

V.  Does  a  knowledge  of  stenography  and  typewriting  help  a 
boy  or  a  girl  get  into  the  better  paying  positions  ? 

VI.  Is  there  any  training  which  could  be  given  in  school  which 
would  make  your  employees  better  fitted  for  their  work 
with  you  ? 

VII.  Do  you  find  your  applicants  as  well  trained  in  the  ordinary 
school  subjects  as  seems  to  you  desirable  ?  If  not,  what 
are  the  principal  defects  ? 


i86 


Commercial  Education 


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Letters  Received  in  Answer  to  Questions     187 


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Index 


I 


INDEX 


Academic  work,  and  vocational  rela- 
tion, 102;  and  vocational  courses,  9; 
related,  3. 

Actual  education  in  shop  and  school, 

17- 

Adding  machines,  58. 

Adequate  equipment,  desirable  quali- 
fication, 35. 

Adjustments,  of  schooling  to  practice, 
71;  to  be  made  by  commercial 
education,  136. 

Age  of  employed,  8. 

Aim,  narrow  today,  115;  of  commer- 
cial education,  104. 

Appendix,  153. 

Appraisal  as  a  basis,  i. 

Arithmetic,  mental,  66. 

Art,  19. 

Bagley,W.C.,  88. 

Baltimore  returns,  5. 

Barrows,  Miss,  20. 

Beverley  plan,  the,  79. 

Bookkeeping,  92. 

Boston  budget,  1,2;  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce Investigation,  forms  used  in, 
1 83-1 88 ;  Report  on  Commercial  Edu- 
cation, 1914,53,61;  Clerical  School, 
91;  experiments,  82;  High  School 
of  Commerce,  82;   returns,  6. 

Brighton  High  School,  83. 

Bronx  General  High  School,  96. 

Brooklyn  Commercial  High  School,  95 ; 
Eastern  District  High  School,  96; 
Special  School  for  Boys,  96. 

Bryan,  W.  J.  C,  address  of,  22. 

Bryant  High  School,  96. 

Budget,  Boston,  i,  2. 

Buffalo  returns,  5. 

Bulletin  No.  3,  Mass.  State  Board  of 
Education,  29. 

Bushwick  High  School,  96. 

Business  men,  bUndness  of,  137;  par- 


ticipation of,  72;  testimony  of,  106; 
ignorance  of,  67;  opinions  of,  67. 
Business,  organization,  evidence  drawn 
from,  109;  recruits,  where  from,  116; 
world  and  commercial  education, 
13;  its  attitude,  14. 

Career  motive,  39. 

Carnegie  Foundation,  131. 

Census  Board,  figures,  109. 

Chamber  of  Commerce  Btdletin,  N.  Y., 
96. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  N.  Y.  Monthly 
Bulletin,  19 12,  144-145. 

Chambers  of  Commerce,  aid  valuable, 
31- 

Character  of  pupils,  New  York  City,  97. 

Charlestown  High  School,  83. 

Chatfield,  G.  H.,  109. 

Chemical  laboratories,  expansion  of.  42. 

Chicago  returns,  6. 

City  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Re- 
port, 1911,  145. 

Civil  Service,  19. 

Clerical  employees  trained  by  schools, 
114. 

Cleveland  returns,  4. 

Co-education,  27,  118. 

College  and  industrial  standards,  47; 
professor,  criticism  of,  47;  require- 
ments and  vocational  standards,  47. 

Commerce,  welfare  affected,  2. 

Commercial  and  academic  divisions,  3. 

Commercial  courses  intensified,  3;  in 
High  Schools,  95;  relation  between 
them  and  the  social  and  industrial 
structure,  28;  educational  inquiry 
in  sixteen  cities,  2;  tables  of  re- 
turns on,  4-6;  educational  ques- 
tions on,  submitted  to  superintend- 
ents, 3;  education  in,  effective  plan, 
17;  parentage  of  pupils  enrolled,  3- 
7;   present  needs  of,  11;    replies  of 


191 


192 


Index 


superintendents  on,  3-6;  what 
answers  show,  7-1 1;  special  prob- 
lem today,  16. 

Commercial  High  Schools,  95;  of 
Brooklyn,  96;  or  separate  com- 
mercial course,  3. 

Committee  of  Teachers.  Records  in 
Business  of  Graduates  of  Public 
Schools,  1914,  53,  68. 

"Complete"  high  school,  22. 

Conclusions  from  the  three  investiga- 
tions, 70. 

Constructive  proposals,  75. 

Continuation  schools,  76,  144,  148. 

Cooperation,  72. 

Cooperative  arrangements  between 
schools  and  business  houses,  141. 

Cooperative  courses,  82,  83. 

Coordinator,  the,  79. 

Corporation  schools,  17. 

Courses  of  study  in  New  York  City, 
96,  120-129. 

Culture,  getting,  43;  loss  of,  43;  and 
poverty,  44. 

Curtis  High  School,  96. 

Dead-end  jobs,  73. 

Dean,  Arthur  D.,  13. 

Definite    aim,    motivating    value    of, 

19. 
Democracy,  new  conception  of,  46. 
Detroit  returns,  6. 
Difiiculties  in  way  of  better  courses, 

138. 
Director  of  practice  work,  82-84. 
Dorchester  High  School,  82,  85. 
Douglass  Commission,  of  Mass.,  20. 
Drawing,  mechanical,  18. 
Drygoods  house,  figures  from,  109-111. 

Earning  capacity  not  a  measure  of  suc- 
cess, 90. 
East  Boston  High  School,  83,  84. 
Economic  inability  of  pupils,  49. 
Efiiciency,  29,  45. 

Elective  courses,  144;   system,  39,  58. 
Emphasis  of  effort,  9. 
Energizing  occupation,  73. 
Enervating  occupation,  73. 
English,  9,  19,  41,  66. 
Equipment,  oflSce,  102. 


Establishment    of    commercial    high 

schools  and  courses,  86. 
Evening  schools,  144-148. 
Extended  education,  an  advantage,  60. 

Failure  of  the  home,  57. 
Father,  occupation  of  the,  57. 
Fitchburg  plan,  79. 
Flexible  courses  outlined,  51. 
Flower,  Lucy,  High  School,  Chicago, 

II. 
Follow-up  work,  72. 
Forms  used  in  investigations,  183-188. 
Freedom,  restricted,  89. 
Furst,  Clyde,  131. 

General  High  School,  the,  22,  36,  96. 

General  training,  preliminary,  58. 

Geographical  distribution  of  schools, 
96. 

Girls'  clerical  course,  141-142;  com- 
mercial education,  114;  High  School, 
Boston,  82. 

Grouping  schools,  45. 

Guidance,  72. 

Hanus,  Professor  Paul.  School  Effi- 
ciency, 49. 

Harvard  Teachers  Association,  131. 

Herrick,  C.  A.,  14. 

High  School  courses,  the  claim  for,  19; 
elimination  of  pupils  of,  20;  human 
waste  of,  48;  inefl&ciency  of,  48;  of 
Commerce,  96. 

History,  9;  industrial,  18. 

Home  conditions,  57. 

Housing  pupils,  86. 

Hyde  Park  High  School,  83. 

Improvement  of  teachers,  32. 

Inadequate  foundation  of  commercial 
education,  134. 

Industrial  training,  2. 

Industry,  and  commerce,  their  differ- 
ences, 18;  welfare  of,  affected,  2, 

Inspection  of  teacher's  work,  100. 

Insurance  houses,  figures  from,  11 1. 

Intensified  course,  3,  10,  90. 

Interests  and  ambitions  of  students,  56. 

Intel-mediate  schools,  149. 

Investigations,  Boston,  1913-14,  53; 
needed  throughout  country,  93. 


Index 


193 


Jamaica,  N.  Y.,  need  of  special  school, 

ISO. 
Johnston,  C.  H.,  36. 
Jones,  E.  O.,  32. 

Kansas  City  returns,  4. 
Kerchensteiner.  Education  for  Citizen- 
ship ^  44. 

Laboratories,  102. 

Languages,  41. 

Leipzig,  City  of:  example  of,  76. 

Letters  from  business  men,  155-179; 

comments  on,  179-183. 
Liberal  education,  88. 
Liberal  profession,  provision  for,  46. 
Limiting  effort  to  clerical  work,  8. 
Local  development  on  local  needs,  94. 
Los  Angeles  returns,  4. 
Loss    in    commercial    and    academic 

pupils,  54. 
Loss  of  membership,  98. 
Lucy  Flower  High  School,  Chicago,  11. 

Man  of  affairs,  criticism  of,  48. 

Manhattan  High  School  of  Com- 
merce, 95-96. 

Manual  training,  12. 

Manual-training  high  schools,  41. 

Massachusetts  Census,  8;  State  aided 
industrial  schools,  34;  State  Board 
of  Education.  Bulletin  No.  3,  191 1, 
146;  State  Board  Investigation,  68; 
State  Committee  on  Business  Edu- 
cation, June  14,  1913,  93;  State 
laws,  132. 

Mathematics,  9,  18,  41. 

Maxim,  Maynard,  68. 

Meaning  and  Practice  of  Commercial 
Education,  by  Herrick,  14. 

Men  and  women  of  affairs  as  teachers, 

34- 
Mental  abiUty,  a  comparative  study 

of,  55. 

Merchandise,  for  girls,  143. 

Method  and  interest,  separation  of,  15. 

Miles,  H.  E.,  report  of,  48. 

Milwaukee  returns,  5. 

Misconception  of  commercial  educa- 
tion, 134. 

Model  office,  the,  78. 

Modem  languages,  19. 


Moral  qualities,  71;  training,  18. 
Motive  to  be  supplied  to  pupils,  38. 

National  Educational  Association. 
Bulletin,  Sept.  1913,  48;  Superin- 
tendent's Convention,  1914,  88. 

New  high  school  order,  its  effects, 
40. 

New  use  of  established  schools,  46. 

New  York  City  commercial  courses 
not  vocational,  133. 

New  York  City  Report,  73,  95. 

New  York  returns,  5. 

Newark  returns,  4. 

Newer  types  of  commercial  schools, 
138-141. 

Office  employment  vs.  selling,  69,  102; 

service,  92. 
One-year  courses,  149. 

Parents,  irresponsibility  of,  49;  strong 

factors,  74;  meetings  of,  99. 
Part-time  and  cooperative  plans,  58, 

71. 
Penmanship,  66. 
Permanent  Census  Board,  109. 
Persistence  of  pupils,  97. 
Person,  H.  S.,  32. 
Personality  needed,  57. 
Personal  qualities,  development  of,  71. 
Philadelphia  returns,  6. 
Physical  laboratory,  expansion  of,  42. 
Pittsburgh  returns,  6. 
Placement,  72,  103. 
Policy  defined,  89. 
Position  defined,  89. 
Present  conditions,  1-2 1. 
Pre- vocational  work,  90. 
Prince,  Mrs.  L.  W.,  82. 
Principals,  N.  Y.  City,  testimony  of, 

105. 
Professions,  provisions  for,  compared 
'  with  those  for  industry  and  trade. 

Program,  division  of,  41;  of  studies, 
18. 

Proportion  of  secondary  pupils  in  com- 
mercial courses,  3. 

Public  Schools  and  Women  in  Office 
Service,  53. 


194 


Index 


Quality  of  pupils  poor,  reasons,  129. 
Queens  High  Schools,  96. 
Questions  submitted  to  Superintend- 
ents, 3. 
Quickness,  18. 

Range  of  commercial  education,  75. 

Readjustment  of  general  high  schools, 
36. 

Ready-made  special  schools,  87. 

Recommendations,  150. 

Reconstruction,  need  of,  2. 

Regents'  examinations,  loi;  objec- 
tions to,  130. 

Related  theory,  teaching  of,  17. 

Relation  between  commercial  educa- 
tion and  business  world,  13. 

Relation  to  academic,  9. 

Replies  from  superintendents,  3-6. 

Roxbury  High  School,  83. 

Salary.    See  Wages. 

Salesmanship,  3,  10,  78,  82,  143. 

San  Francisco  returns,  4. 

Schaub,  L.  F.,  Professor,  33. 

School,  part  of  social  and  industrial 

structure,     29;      organization    and 

teachers,  23;    training  and  earning 

power,  65. 
School  Review,  The,  131. 
School  shop,  a,  77. 
Schooling  and  occupation,  56. 
Scope  and  aims  of  report,  95. 
Scott,  W.  A.,  Professor,  2,2>' 
Secretarial  work,  92. 
Sectional  differences  of  practice,  22. 
Segregation  of  sexes,  119. 
Selection  of  courses,  98. 
Selling  vs.  ofl5ce  employment,  69. 
Separation  of  method  and  interest,  15. 
Sex,  8,  27;  segregation  by,  3,  119,  143. 
Shepard,  J.  J.,  96. 
Skilled  labor,  lack  of,  2. 
Snedden,  David,  88. 
South  Boston  High  School,  83. 
Special  Commission,  30. 
Special  high  school,  9;  problems,  86. 
Springfield  returns,  5. 
Standards,    democratic,    needed,    20; 

set  by  business  men,  116. 
State  Syllabus  New  York,  104. 


Statistics,  U.  S.  A.,  and  Mass.  Census, 

8. 
Stenographers,  8. 
Stenography,  29,  66,  70,  92. 
St.  Louis  returns,  6. 
Store  schools,  17. 
Store  service,  78. 
Sub-schools,  41. 
Suggested  courses,  1 38-141. 
Summary,  150. 

Teacher,  his  functions  and  training,  31. 

Teachers  of  commercial  subjects,  100; 
securing,  86;  preferences  of ,  42;  with- 
out experience  and  training,  129. 

Teaching  forces  available,  31. 

Technique,  efficiency  of,  71;  needed, 
57- 

Testimony  of  business  men  and  prin- 
cipals, 106. 

Thompson,  F.  V.,  N.  Y.  City  Report, 

95- 
Three  Investigations,  Boston,  1914,  53. 
Tildsley,  J.L.,  144. 
Town  groups  and  the  conmiercial  high 

school,  45. 
Transfers  in  business,  112. 
Two-year  courses,  149. 
Typewriters,  8. 
Typewriting,  29. 

Unit  courses,  75. 
United  States  Census,  8. 
Universities  and  colleges  interested,  32. 

Van  Denberg,  20. 

Vocation  Bureau,  Boston,  113. 

Vocational  destinies,  2;  education,  88, 
132;  histories,  62;  instruction,  its 
effect  on  cultural  value  of  secondary 
school  work,  43;  practice,  78;  school 
and  culture,  44. 

Wages,  69,  70;  average  for  women,  60; 

men's  earning  power  classified  and 

analysed,  63. 
Washington  Irving  High  School,  96; 

girls'  course  in,  142. 
West  Roxbury  High  School,  83,  84. 
Women's  Educational  and  Industrial 

Union,    Boston,    11,    82,    183-188; 

Report,  1914,  53. 


I 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
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